CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Babich, Pavel |
|---|---|
| Title | A Russian Officer in the Persian Cossack Brigade: Vladimir Andreevich Kosagovskii |
| Summary | The Persian Cossack Brigade was founded in 1879 after the personal request by Nasr al-Din Shah of Persia to the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia. The creation of the Brigade was a part of the process of europeization of the Persian army that took place in the second half of the 19th century. The Brigade was under the rule of Russian officers, and in time came to be associated with the Russian imperial expansion in Iran. The activity of the Brigade, however, was not always successful and effective, and the problems it suffered at times raise doubts about whether the use of the Brigade as an actor of Russian influence was at all possible. One of the most successful Russian officers at the head of the Brigade, Vladimir Andreevich Kosagovskii, was appointed to this position in 1894. Due to his activity the Brigade was put out of the crisis. At the time of his instruction the Brigade effectively came into the sphere of Russian foreign politics in Iran. Its troops started to participate actively in the internal life of the country, such as in the case when they took control over the whole Tehran to ensure safe succession of Mozaffar al-Din to the throne after the assassination of his predecessor, Nasr al-Din. The Brigade was given financial support from the customs of Northern Persia, the revenues from which were given to Russia as a guarantee for Persian loan. Russian ambassador personally intervened to the Shah in 1894 to prevent the possible disbandment of the Brigade. However, after the end of Kosagovskij’s contract, the Brigade once again entered the face of decline with little support from Russia, and once again came to the political arena only in 1908 to fight against the Persian Constitutionalists. The thesis will make use of the vast sources left by one of the most successful officers in the head of the Brigade, colonel Kosagovskij, to give answer to several questions. What was the colonel’s view on the mission he was assigned in Iran? What were his ideas about the general trend of Russian politics in this region? What were the reasons for fluctuating of the Russian government’s attitude towards the brigade, and was there any general plan of actions in connection with the unit and Russian politics in Iran in general? These problems will be dealt with in the following chapters. |
| Supervisor | Rieber, Alfred |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/babich_pavel.pdf |
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