Talk:Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)

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An entry from Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 12 April 2006.

Re:

After the Treaty of Golestan concluded the previous Russo-Persian War in 1813, peace reigned in the Caucasus for thirteen years. However, Fath 'Ali Shah, constantly in need of foreign subsidies, relied on the advice of British agents, who pressed him to reconquer the territories lost to Russia and pledged their support to military action.

It was a little more complicated that that. The Russian declaration of war (September 16, 1826 OS), published by the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vneshnyaya politika Rossii XIX i nachala XX veka, Seriya Vtoraya, Tom Vtoroj (Chetyrnadtsatyj), Moscow, Nauka, 1985, p.601-603) mentions two territorial disputes between the empires and the fact that the respective disputed territories had been occupied by Russian and Persian forces for a number of years. For details, see Nesselrode's February 3, 1826 instructions to Menshikov with a detailed account of the border disputes between the two countries in 1813-1826 (op.cit., p.389-391). As the declaration of war stated, "объяснения были продолжительными, но без неприятностей" until early 1826. At that point rumors of the Decembrist revolt reached Persia and convinced its government that Russia would be weakened by internal strife -- see the letter that Yermolov sent to St. Petersburg on March 4, 1826 OS, where he wrote that Persia is full of rumors to the effect that "Россия раздираема междоусобною войною" and that "в Персии подобная молва, сколько бы ни была нелепа, кажется всегда правдоподобною" (quoted in op.cit., p.760, also see op.cit., p.844 for Yermolov's after the fact analysis).

The matter was decided upon in spring 1826, when a bellicose party of Abbas Mirza prevailed in Tehran and the Russian minister, Aleksandr Sergeevich Menshikov, was placed under house arrest.

It would appear that Menshikov wasn't placed under house arrest until late July 1826 as can be seen from his reports to St. Petersburg, e.g. op.cit., p.574.

If somebody could look these things up in Akty, sobrannye Kavkazskoyu Arheograficheskoyu komissiyeyu, volume VI, parts 1-2, Tiflis, 1874-1875, where most of the relevant documents were published in full, that would be most helpful :) Ahasuerus 17:39, 9 April 2006 (UTC)