1. Coll 28/56 ‘Persia. Perso-Turkish & Perso-Russian Frontier Affairs. Rowanduz Trade Route.’

Description:

Abstract: Correspondence and other papers concerning the development of trade routes in northeast Persia [Iran], on the Iraq border, with particular focus on routes through Rowanduz (also spelt Rawanduz [Ruwāndiz]) and in Azerbaijan. HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Tehran, Percy Loraine, and the (Acting) High Commissioner in Iraq, Bernard Henry Bourdillon, discuss the Persian Government’s desire to facilitate exports in its northern and eastern provinces, in response to Russia's embargo on all goods except cotton from Persia. The correspondence also concerns British-administered Iraq’s desire to encourage greater trade between Iraq and Persia. The file includes: a memorandum dated 2 November 1926 on Persian exports and inland transport, written by the Acting Secretary in Charge of Commercial Affairs at the British Legation in Tehran, Eric Ralph Lingeman (ff 43-46); a report dated 29 June 1931 on the Rawanduz road and other main roads in Azerbaijan, written by the British Consul at Tabriz, Clarence Edward Stanhope Palmer (ff 19-39); a memorandum dated 30 March 1932 on the Rowanduz Rayat road, written by the Director of the Iraq State Railways, Joseph Ramsay Tainsh (ff 10-15).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 76; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.

2. Coll 28/29 ‘Persia. Russia. Russian Refugees in Persia.’

Description:

Abstract: Correspondence and papers collected in response to an influx of refugees arriving in the northern provinces of Persia [Iran] from Soviet Russia, reaching a peak during 1932 and 1933, as a result of a chronic famine affecting parts of southern Russia.Extracts from consular diaries and intelligence summaries, submitted by the British Consulates and Vice Consulates at Meshed [Mashhad] (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major L G W Hamber; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly), Tabriz (Clarence Edward Stanhope Palmer) and Resht [Rasht] (Archibald William Davis).Reports and memoranda on refugees from Russia in Persia (their numbers, condition, treatment at the hands of Russian and Persian authorities, movements) compiled by British officials at Meshed, Tabriz and Resht, and submitted to Government by the British Legation in Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare).Correspondence exchanged between India Office and Foreign Office representatives in response to the reports received from Persia, discussing what actions might be taken.Many of the reports and correspondence provide evidence of British officials’ suspicions of Communist (or Bolshevik) conspirators amongst the refugees, whom they suspect of intending to foment unrest in Persia. The papers also give indication of the various different ethnic groups and peoples comprising the refugees from Russia (including Turcoman [Turkmen], Armenian, Khirgis [Kyrgyz], Bukharan Jewish), and differences in the treatment and movements of these different groups, including, for example, Bukharan Jewish refugees’ attempts to obtain visas for travel to Palestine.The file contains a single item of correspondence in French, being a copy of a letter from the Secretary General of the League of Nations (f 9).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 205; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.