Mirza Kuchik Khan (Persian: میرزا كوچک خان) (common alternative spellings Kouchek, Koochek, Kuchak, Kuchek, Kouchak, Koochak, Kuçek) (October 12, 1880[4] – December 2, 1921) was an Iranian twentieth-century revolutionary leader and the president of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic.[5] He was the founder of a revolutionary movement based in the forests of Gilan in northern Iran that became known as the Nehzat-e Jangal (The Jungle Movement). This uprising started in 1914 and remained active against internal and foreign enemies until 1921 when the movement was completely abandoned after the demise of Mirza Kuchak Khan.
Mirza Kuchak Khan was born Yunes, son of Mirza "Bozorg" (the Persian equivalent of "Sr"), and was thus nicknamed Mirza "Kuchak" (the Persian equivalent of "Jr"), in the city of Rasht in northern Iran in 1880. His father was a Gilani merchant.[6]
Political Activities
In June 1908 the parliament was shut down during a coup d'état ordered by the new monarch, Mohammad Ali Shah. The Russian Cossack Brigade under the command of Colonel Liakhov serving the Shah bombarded the parliament and arrested pro-democracy leaders, activists, journalists, and members of Parliament. Uprisings all over the country followed in particular in Tabriz, Ardabil and Rasht. During the Tabriz uprising Kuchak Khan tried to join Sattar Khan & Haj Baba Khan-e- Ardabili's forces, but was unable to actively participate due to an illness. He was injured in the Constitutionalist war, and had to travel to Baku and Tbilisi for medical attention.
After going through a period of renewed and bloody dictatorship nicknamed the Short Dictatorship (or Lesser Autocracy), in July 1909 the national revolutionary forces from Gilan and central Iran (Bakhtiari tribes) were united to attack and conquer the capital Tehran. Mirza Kuchak Khan was one of the lower rank commanders of the force that invaded the capital from North (under the command of Sepahdar Aazam Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni).
Mirza Kuchak Khan before starting the rebellion (around 1914).
Unfortunately, given the shortcomings of the advanced social thinkers and activists of the time on one hand and the stronger establishment of the old autocracy on the other hand, again the same privileged class and their political representatives took control of the new regime. The freedom fighters were not satisfied and in fact were disarmed, in some cases using force. Meanwhile, the direct and indirect manipulation of the country's internal politics by TsaristRussians and the British increased the social unrest within Iran.[citation needed]
It was during such tumultuous period that Mirza Kuchak Khan, in collaboration with the Society of Islamic Union, started his uprising in the northern forests (Southern Caspian). Initially, the headquarters of the movement was in Kasma. Mirza Kuchak Khan's return to Rasht was not easy since he had been expelled from Gilan by the Russian consulate for five years. His cause seems to have been a mixture of that of the newly emerging national bourgeoisie and downtrodden peasants and therefore gained momentum soon after it started. The Jangal forces (locally referred to as 'Jangalis' i.e., 'People of the Jungle' in Persian) defeated the local governmental and Russian troops which added to their reputation as potential saviors of the ideas of the constitutional revolution.[citation needed]
On June 12, 1918 Manjil was the site of a battle between the Jangali troops and the joint British and White Russian forces. The latter force (led by General Dunsterville and Colonel Lazar Bicherakhov) although formally just trying to organize the return of Russian soldiers back home, in reality was planning to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian in order to reach Baku and fight against the newly formed Baku commune (led by Stepan Shahumian). General Dunsterville's private diaries and notes, including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North Persia and Baku, are transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville's great granddaughter, and are co-located on the Great War Primary Documents Archive.[7] Mirza Koochek Khan's troops were defeated in this war because of the use of artillery, armored car and airplanes by the joint forces. Mirza's field commander was a German officer (Major Von Pashen) who had joined the Jangal movement after being released by them from the British prison in Rasht.[citation needed]
The Jangal movement was further boosted and gained gravity after the victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia. In May 1920 the Soviet Navy led by Fyodor Raskolnikov and accompanied by Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze entered the Caspian port of Anzali. This mission was declared to be only in pursue of the Russian vessels and ammunition taken to Anzali by the White Russian counter-revolutionary general Denikin, who had been given asylum by British forces in Anzali.[citation needed]
Mirza Kuchak Khan agreed to cooperate with the Soviet revolutionaries on some conditions including the announcement of the Socialist Republic of Gilan (also known as The Red Republic of the Jungle) under his leadership and lack of any direct intervention by the Soviets in the internal affairs of the republic. However, soon disagreements arose between Mirza and his group of advisors on one side and the Soviets and the Communist Party of Persia (evolved from the Baku-based Edalat Party). Mirza's efforts to resolve the bloody disputes by sending a petition through a delegate of two of his men to Lenin[8] did not result in a resolution. By 1921 and particularly after the agreement achieved between the Soviet Union and Britain the Soviets decided not to further support the Socialist Republic of Gilan and as a result the government forces led by colonel Reza Khan (the future Reza Shah) overran the dispersed forces of the Jungle Republic. There is however, a different point of view that believes Mirza Kuchak Khan and his inner circles were not at the advantage to deal with and to accomplish major radical social changes such as abandoning feudalism in Gilan which would have served the republic tremendously paving the way for its final victory.[9]
Letter of assignment of Comrade Saadollah Darvish signed by Mirza Koochak Khan
Saadollah Darvish is appointed as the Chair of the Revolutionary Council (Commissar) of the forces missioned to Mazandaran Province, to promote the Red Iranian Revolution in that province. The letter is signed by Mirza Kuchak Khan (his usual signature Kuchek-e Jangali i.e., Kuchek of the Jungle) and other members of the Revolutionary Council of The Republic of Iran, 1920. The tone and the terminology used in the letter shows the revolutionary fervor of the time and, contrary to the suggestion of conservatism on Mirza's side by some historians, his devotion to the ideas of socialism.
Mirza and his companion named Gaouk, a Russian-German revolutionary adventurer, left alone in Talesh mountains around "Masal", both died of frostbite. His body was decapitated by a local landlord and his head was displayed in Rasht to establish the government's new hegemony over revolution and revolutionary ideas. They buried his body in Soleymandarab in Rasht and sent his severed head to Cossack commander Reza Khan (who later became the first Pahlavi King of Iran) in Tehran. During the Second World War and after the departure of Reza Shah for exile, friends of Mirza Kuchak brought his head back from Tehran and buried it in his tomb. The tomb of Mirza kuchak in Rasht was reconstructed after the Islamic revolution.[10]
Historical analysis
Historians have tried to analyze the factors that contributed to the demise of the Jangal Movement. Some of the main studies including those by Gregory Yeghikian and Ebrahim Fakhrayi (minister of Culture in Mirza's Cabinet of the Red Republic) suggest a role for both extremist actions taken by the Communist (Edalat) Party that provoked opposing religious sentiment among the public, and Mirza Koochak Khan's religious and at times somewhat conservative views on collaboration with the Communist Party as possible factors.
It has been suggested also that the change of policy on the Soviet side regarding pursuing global revolution (as advocated by Trotsky) versus establishing and protecting the Soviet Union was the main reason for them to withdraw support from the Gilan republic. The second option got more support and therefore Soviets signed a treaty with British in London (1921) which necessitated withdrawing from Northern Iran. Correspondence between Theodore Rothstein, the Soviet ambassador in Tehran, and Mirza Koochak Khan supports this view (Ebrahim Fakhrayi). As part of his peace making efforts, Rothstein had also sent a message to the Soviet officers among Ehsanollah Khan's one thousand strong force that had made its way towards Qazvin, not to obey his orders and as a result that campaign was defeated however, this view has been challenged by other historians emphasizing Kuchak Khan's limited view of revolution given his socio-economic and ideological position.[11]
^ abcdCahon, Ben. "Iran – Gilan". World Statesmen. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
^Mazinani, Mohammad-Sadegh (2002). "هیأت اتحاد اسلام گیلان" [Unity of Islam in Gilan]. Ḥawzah (in Persian). Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy. 19 (111–112): 50–105. ISSN 1735-3173.
^Atabaki, Touraj (2009). Iran in the 20th Century: Historiography and Political Culture. I.B.Tauris. p. 63. ISBN978-0857731876. Leaders of regional movements like Ra'is Ali Dilvari, Mirza Kuchik Khan, Muhammad Khiyabani and others or revered politically active intellectuals such as Mirza Hassan Khan Pir Nia Mushir al-Dawlah or Hassan Mudarris have become unquestioned national heroes (...)
Afary, Janet (1995). "The Contentious Historiography of the Gilan Republic in Iran: A Critical Exploration". Iranian Studies. 28 (1/2): 3–24. doi:10.1080/00210869508701827. JSTOR 4310915. (registration required)
Ebrahim Fakhrayi, Sardar-e Jangal (The Commander of the Jangalis), Tehran: Javidan,1983, and Shaban Khan Jangali (Mirza's nephew), His name was not mentioned as the writer or researcher. He was always with Mirza in all battles and brought Mirza's head to Rasht. He is buried next to Mirza.
Gregor Yaghikiyan, Shooravi and Jonbesh-e Jangal (The Soviet Union and the Jangali Movement), Editor: Borzouyeh Dehgan, Tehran: Novin, 1984.
Khosro Shākeri, Milāde Zakhm: Jonbesh-e Jangal va Jomhuri-ye Shoravi-ye Socialist-e Iran in Persian, first edition, 715 p. (Akhtarān Press, Tehran, 2007). ISBN978-964-8897-27-2 . Published in English as Cosroe ChaqueriThe Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran, 1920-21: Birth of the Trauma (Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994), ISBN9780822937920.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mirza Kuchik Khan.
Socialist Republic of Gilan: The First Offensive Move of the October Revolution
General Dunstervill's diary - Great War Primary Documents Archive
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April 01, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mirza Kuchik Khan news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Mirza Kuchik Khan Persian میرزا كوچک خان common alternative spellings Kouchek Koochek Kuchak Kuchek Kouchak Koochak Kucek October 12 1880 4 December 2 1921 was an Iranian twentieth century revolutionary leader and the president of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic 5 He was the founder of a revolutionary movement based in the forests of Gilan in northern Iran that became known as the Nehzat e Jangal The Jungle Movement This uprising started in 1914 and remained active against internal and foreign enemies until 1921 when the movement was completely abandoned after the demise of Mirza Kuchak Khan Mirza Kuchak Khan2nd Chairman of Revolutionary Committee of Persian Socialist Soviet Republic 1 In office 8 May 1921 September 1921Preceded byEhsanollah Khan Dustdar 1 Succeeded byEhsanollah Khan Dustdar 1 Chairman of Council of People s Commissars of Persian Soviet Republic 1 In office 5 June 1920 31 July 1920Preceded byOffice institutedSucceeded byOffice abolishedPersonal detailsBornYunes12 October 1880Rasht IranDied2 December 1921 1921 12 02 aged 41 Khalkhal IranPolitical partyUnity of Islam Party 2 1915 18 Other politicalaffiliationsModerate Socialists Party 1910s 3 Signature Contents 1 Early life 2 Political Activities 3 Jangal movement 4 Socialist Republic of Gilan 5 Mirza s death 6 Historical analysis 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksEarly life EditMirza Kuchak Khan was born Yunes son of Mirza Bozorg the Persian equivalent of Sr and was thus nicknamed Mirza Kuchak the Persian equivalent of Jr in the city of Rasht in northern Iran in 1880 His father was a Gilani merchant 6 Political Activities EditIn June 1908 the parliament was shut down during a coup d etat ordered by the new monarch Mohammad Ali Shah The Russian Cossack Brigade under the command of Colonel Liakhov serving the Shah bombarded the parliament and arrested pro democracy leaders activists journalists and members of Parliament Uprisings all over the country followed in particular in Tabriz Ardabil and Rasht During the Tabriz uprising Kuchak Khan tried to join Sattar Khan amp Haj Baba Khan e Ardabili s forces but was unable to actively participate due to an illness He was injured in the Constitutionalist war and had to travel to Baku and Tbilisi for medical attention After going through a period of renewed and bloody dictatorship nicknamed the Short Dictatorship or Lesser Autocracy in July 1909 the national revolutionary forces from Gilan and central Iran Bakhtiari tribes were united to attack and conquer the capital Tehran Mirza Kuchak Khan was one of the lower rank commanders of the force that invaded the capital from North under the command of Sepahdar Aazam Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni Jangal movement EditMain article Jungle Movement of Gilan Mirza Kuchak Khan before starting the rebellion around 1914 Unfortunately given the shortcomings of the advanced social thinkers and activists of the time on one hand and the stronger establishment of the old autocracy on the other hand again the same privileged class and their political representatives took control of the new regime The freedom fighters were not satisfied and in fact were disarmed in some cases using force Meanwhile the direct and indirect manipulation of the country s internal politics by Tsarist Russians and the British increased the social unrest within Iran citation needed It was during such tumultuous period that Mirza Kuchak Khan in collaboration with the Society of Islamic Union started his uprising in the northern forests Southern Caspian Initially the headquarters of the movement was in Kasma Mirza Kuchak Khan s return to Rasht was not easy since he had been expelled from Gilan by the Russian consulate for five years His cause seems to have been a mixture of that of the newly emerging national bourgeoisie and downtrodden peasants and therefore gained momentum soon after it started The Jangal forces locally referred to as Jangalis i e People of the Jungle in Persian defeated the local governmental and Russian troops which added to their reputation as potential saviors of the ideas of the constitutional revolution citation needed On June 12 1918 Manjil was the site of a battle between the Jangali troops and the joint British and White Russian forces The latter force led by General Dunsterville and Colonel Lazar Bicherakhov although formally just trying to organize the return of Russian soldiers back home in reality was planning to pass through Manjil as the only passage to the Caspian in order to reach Baku and fight against the newly formed Baku commune led by Stepan Shahumian General Dunsterville s private diaries and notes including those kept during his command of the Dunsterforce Mission to North Persia and Baku are transcribed from the original by General Dunsterville s great granddaughter and are co located on the Great War Primary Documents Archive 7 Mirza Koochek Khan s troops were defeated in this war because of the use of artillery armored car and airplanes by the joint forces Mirza s field commander was a German officer Major Von Pashen who had joined the Jangal movement after being released by them from the British prison in Rasht citation needed The Jangal movement was further boosted and gained gravity after the victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia In May 1920 the Soviet Navy led by Fyodor Raskolnikov and accompanied by Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze entered the Caspian port of Anzali This mission was declared to be only in pursue of the Russian vessels and ammunition taken to Anzali by the White Russian counter revolutionary general Denikin who had been given asylum by British forces in Anzali citation needed Socialist Republic of Gilan EditMain article Persian Socialist Soviet Republic Red Iran wall newspaper of Russian Telegraph Agency Russian Telegraph Agency in Persian and Russian reads Rasht June 27 1920 Long Live Mirza Kuchek in the honor of Mirza Kuchak Khan and celebration of the newly announced Soviet Republic of Gilan Mirza Kuchak Khan agreed to cooperate with the Soviet revolutionaries on some conditions including the announcement of the Socialist Republic of Gilan also known as The Red Republic of the Jungle under his leadership and lack of any direct intervention by the Soviets in the internal affairs of the republic However soon disagreements arose between Mirza and his group of advisors on one side and the Soviets and the Communist Party of Persia evolved from the Baku based Edalat Party Mirza s efforts to resolve the bloody disputes by sending a petition through a delegate of two of his men to Lenin 8 did not result in a resolution By 1921 and particularly after the agreement achieved between the Soviet Union and Britain the Soviets decided not to further support the Socialist Republic of Gilan and as a result the government forces led by colonel Reza Khan the future Reza Shah overran the dispersed forces of the Jungle Republic There is however a different point of view that believes Mirza Kuchak Khan and his inner circles were not at the advantage to deal with and to accomplish major radical social changes such as abandoning feudalism in Gilan which would have served the republic tremendously paving the way for its final victory 9 Letter of assignment of Comrade Saadollah Darvish signed by Mirza Koochak Khan Saadollah Darvish is appointed as the Chair of the Revolutionary Council Commissar of the forces missioned to Mazandaran Province to promote the Red Iranian Revolution in that province The letter is signed by Mirza Kuchak Khan his usual signature Kuchek e Jangali i e Kuchek of the Jungle and other members of the Revolutionary Council of The Republic of Iran 1920 The tone and the terminology used in the letter shows the revolutionary fervor of the time and contrary to the suggestion of conservatism on Mirza s side by some historians his devotion to the ideas of socialism Mirza s death Edit Mirza Kuchik Khan Mausoleum in Rasht Mirza and his companion named Gaouk a Russian German revolutionary adventurer left alone in Talesh mountains around Masal both died of frostbite His body was decapitated by a local landlord and his head was displayed in Rasht to establish the government s new hegemony over revolution and revolutionary ideas They buried his body in Soleymandarab in Rasht and sent his severed head to Cossack commander Reza Khan who later became the first Pahlavi King of Iran in Tehran During the Second World War and after the departure of Reza Shah for exile friends of Mirza Kuchak brought his head back from Tehran and buried it in his tomb The tomb of Mirza kuchak in Rasht was reconstructed after the Islamic revolution 10 Historical analysis EditHistorians have tried to analyze the factors that contributed to the demise of the Jangal Movement Some of the main studies including those by Gregory Yeghikian and Ebrahim Fakhrayi minister of Culture in Mirza s Cabinet of the Red Republic suggest a role for both extremist actions taken by the Communist Edalat Party that provoked opposing religious sentiment among the public and Mirza Koochak Khan s religious and at times somewhat conservative views on collaboration with the Communist Party as possible factors It has been suggested also that the change of policy on the Soviet side regarding pursuing global revolution as advocated by Trotsky versus establishing and protecting the Soviet Union was the main reason for them to withdraw support from the Gilan republic The second option got more support and therefore Soviets signed a treaty with British in London 1921 which necessitated withdrawing from Northern Iran Correspondence between Theodore Rothstein the Soviet ambassador in Tehran and Mirza Koochak Khan supports this view Ebrahim Fakhrayi As part of his peace making efforts Rothstein had also sent a message to the Soviet officers among Ehsanollah Khan s one thousand strong force that had made its way towards Qazvin not to obey his orders and as a result that campaign was defeated however this view has been challenged by other historians emphasizing Kuchak Khan s limited view of revolution given his socio economic and ideological position 11 See also EditGilan Iran Russia relations Iranian Constitutional Revolution Jungle Movement of GilanReferences Edit a b c d Cahon Ben Iran Gilan World Statesmen Retrieved 2 February 2018 Mazinani Mohammad Sadegh 2002 هیأت اتحاد اسلام گیلان Unity of Islam in Gilan Ḥawzah in Persian Islamic Sciences and Culture Academy 19 111 112 50 105 ISSN 1735 3173 Abrahamian Ervand 1993 Khomeinism Essays on the Islamic Republic Berkeley CA University of California Press p 98 ISBN 0 520 08503 5 https parstoday com id news iran i87817 11 azar iran peringati mirza kuchak khan jangali Atabaki Touraj 2009 Iran in the 20th Century Historiography and Political Culture I B Tauris p 63 ISBN 978 0857731876 Leaders of regional movements like Ra is Ali Dilvari Mirza Kuchik Khan Muhammad Khiyabani and others or revered politically active intellectuals such as Mirza Hassan Khan Pir Nia Mushir al Dawlah or Hassan Mudarris have become unquestioned national heroes Afary 1995 p 4 Lionel Dunsterville Diary Gwpda org 2005 03 02 Retrieved 2013 05 20 Mirza Koochak Khan Lenin The Iranian Retrieved 2013 05 20 1 Archived February 14 2008 at the Wayback Machine Quiz The Iranian 2002 09 06 Retrieved 2013 05 20 2 Archived February 6 2008 at the Wayback MachineFurther reading EditAfary Janet 1995 The Contentious Historiography of the Gilan Republic in Iran A Critical Exploration Iranian Studies 28 1 2 3 24 doi 10 1080 00210869508701827 JSTOR 4310915 registration required Ebrahim Fakhrayi Sardar e Jangal The Commander of the Jangalis Tehran Javidan 1983 and Shaban Khan Jangali Mirza s nephew His name was not mentioned as the writer or researcher He was always with Mirza in all battles and brought Mirza s head to Rasht He is buried next to Mirza Gregor Yaghikiyan Shooravi and Jonbesh e Jangal The Soviet Union and the Jangali Movement Editor Borzouyeh Dehgan Tehran Novin 1984 Khosro Shakeri Milade Zakhm Jonbesh e Jangal va Jomhuri ye Shoravi ye Socialist e Iran in Persian first edition 715 p Akhtaran Press Tehran 2007 ISBN 978 964 8897 27 2 Published in English as Cosroe Chaqueri The Soviet Socialist Republic of Iran 1920 21 Birth of the Trauma Pitt Series in Russian and East European Studies University of Pittsburgh Press 1994 ISBN 9780822937920 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mirza Kuchik Khan Socialist Republic of Gilan The First Offensive Move of the October Revolution General Dunstervill s diary Great War Primary Documents Archive irib irg iran daily com Retrieved from 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