File 18/1919 Pt 2 ‘Persia: Expenditure payments for maintenance of Cossack Division’ [‎219r] (69/70)

THiU NORTH
PERSIA RINLES.
T
Extract from Cabinet 62 (20) Held on 18th November 1920
With reference to cabinet 59 (20) Conclusion 4,
the attention of the Cabinet was drawn to a Question in
Parliament asking for information as to whether a subsidy
had been paid from British sources for the Cossack
Division in Persia, and the draft Reply which stated that
half the subsidy was paid from March 1918 to May 1920 from
Imperial funds*
It was explained that tne reply given in the
draft Answer was correct and referred to past
expenditure which had been shared by the Indian Government.
The most recent development had followed the ignominious
failure of the Cossack Division before the Bolsheviks, as
the result of which it had been found necessary to
dismiss Colonel Starosselski and the other Russian
officers of the Division who had proved cowardly and
incompetent. The policy of withdrawing the British
forces from Persia next Spring rendered necessary the
establishment of some efficient Persian force for the
maintenance of order. It had consequently been decided
to utilise, for the re-organisation of the Cossack Division,
the British officers who had been sent to Teheran to
reorganise the Persian Array, but whose activities had
been postponed owing to the delay of the Mejliss in
ratifying the Angle-Persian Agreement. This would
involve us in a future expenditure, but it was hoped
to recover this from the Persian Government if and when
the