"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٣‎٣‎٧] (١٧٨٢/٤٨٠)

2%'.
337
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further information showed that the new staff in the Gulf was likely to be
entirely of Russian nationality. In 1903 some Batoum firms sent travellers
to the Persian Gulf and steps were taken for the establishment of museums
of Russian pioducts and manufactures at Bushehr and Basrah. In
Novembei 1903 the Russian Government decided to station a war vessel
permanently in the Persian Gulf, and the construction of a gunboat was
subsequently provided for in the Russian naval programme of 1906.
Towards the end of 1904 the Russian Government, in order to assist the
opeiations of the Company, annulled their general prohibition of trade
between Europe and Persia by the Batoum-Baku route in respect of certain
kinds of British merchandise, notably Indian tea, if carried by the Russian
Steam Navigation and Trading Company's steamers from Odessa to
Batoum, and certain reductions of custom duty were granted in favour of
the same articles.
Further aid was rendered to Russian trade in Southern Persia and the
Gulf by the despatch of two Russian commercial missions to those parts in
1904 and 1905, the second under the auspices of the Russian Depart
ment of Mercantile Shipping. The first mission consisted of five members,
and both were headed by Prince Anatouni, a Caucasian Armenian of good
birth. Members of the first mission were seen at ShTraz, Bushehr,
Muhammareh, Shushtar, and other places, the Prince himself visiting the
two last in person in August 1904 ; the chief object then appeared to be the
establishment of Russian Banks at Bushehr and Shiraz. On the second
occasion Prince Anatouni was still described as Secretary of the Russian
Bank/'' but he was also charged with the inspection of the Russian Steam
Navigation and Trading Company's staff, which now consisted of one
senior and seven junior agents stationed at the Persian Gulf ports enu
merated in the Company's prospectus of 1903. This duty cannot have
been very thoroughly performed, for the Prince, who arrived at Bushehr
on the 27th of September 1905 in the Company's steamer "Truvor," left
in the beginning of October for Shiraz, where he remained till the end
of the month, and then departed for Isfahan and Tehran.
Concurrently with the development of the Russian naval, military, and
commercial schemes described above, there were additions to and improve
ments in the consular staff maintained by Russia in the countries adjoin
ing the Persian Gulf. These will be noted in their proper places in
dealing with the detailed political history of the Gulf.
Little political advantage was derived by Russia from the " plague mis
sions " which, as mentioned in the history of the last period, she occasion
ally sent to the shores of the Persian Gulf. The fact that the sanitary
31
Increased
Russian con
sular re
presentation
in the Per
sian Gulf
region.
Russian sani*
tary agents
and policy in
the Persian
Gulf.