The weekly scientific meeting of history was held on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, with the speech of Mr. Dr. Mohammad Hassan Mahdian. The topic of his speech was Russia's position in the formation of world history. The main contents presented in the speech are as follows:
Dr. Mahdian: The material presented in the previous meetings is based on a wide range of sources from Russia, Tsarist Russia, Western countries, socialist countries, etc. Many sources have been used in these speechs, and if necessary, I will provide you with a list of sources.
Continuing the discussion about Soviet universities, it should be noted that the number of foreign students was not large at Moscow University. Most of these students came to the Soviet Union on behalf of the government. These students were in preliminary courses at Moscow University, but after that they were sent to the cities. At Moscow University, there were students from the Eastern Bloc and from countries like Spain, East Germany, Italy, and other Eastern European countries. The total number of these students was not large. Our group of 15 people was also settled in this university due to the agreements made between the officials before the visit. These foreign students were forced to flee to the Soviet Union with their parents at the age of 10 and above. During his time in power, Stalin generally did not trust any communists coming from outside the Soviet Union and interrogated everyone.
In the 1930s, many communists from other countries were killed by Stalin. In fact, these communists were on the run in their countries and were being persecuted and interrogated in the Soviet Union, and eventually, many of them were either killed or deported to a forced labor camp. In the meantime, these were left alone. These Spanish and German guys studied in schools called Comintern, and their accommodation was a hotel called Lux Hotel. This hotel was a full-fledged barracks and was located in the middle of Moscow. The hotel was located on the street called Greki, which was the headquarters of the party offices, the residence of the families of party members, the representation of military barracks, the representation of security agencies, etc. People who entered this hotel had to carry special cards with them; otherwise, they could neither enter nor leave the hotel. Some members of the Tudeh Party of Iran were also stationed in this hotel.
Stalin did not meet any of the members of the Tudeh Party of Iran, and the only person he accepted was Abolghasem Lahouti Kermanshahi. Lahouti praised Stalin by writing poems. Usually, high-ranking officials of the Soviet Union did not meet with leaders of communist parties from other countries, such as East Germany, Iran, etc. Few of these people's children studied at Moscow University. They were closed people who didn't communicate with anyone and didn't give information to anyone, and any question they were asked, they only gave a one-word answer. Many fugitive communists were deported to Magadan, and some of them who had not committed serious crimes were deported to Karaganda in Kazakhstan. This city was very poor in terms of basic life facilities, and the families had to build huts for themselves in the fields. This metropolis was full of mines and full of coal mines. The living conditions of these people were very miserable. During the war, their ration was 400 grams of bread and a plate of very thin soup.
The Iranian people of the Tudeh Party were less important to the Soviet leaders than the Spanish, German, and French communists. Stalin hoped to establish a communist system in Germany, Spain, and Italy, but he knew from the beginning that the communist idea would not be established in Iran because many Iranian people are religious and do not accept such ideas. The communist leaders of Germany, Spain, etc., knew that the communist people in exile were living in deplorable conditions, but they could not do anything to improve their living conditions.
Most of the students of Moscow University had adapted themselves to the prevailing communist conditions, but our group was not like that. Among the course materials was a title in which the elimination of the difference between the city and the village was examined. In protesting these teaching materials, we were explaining that it is not possible to eliminate the difference between the city and the village in general. We requested that we be allowed to visit Soviet villages and investigate this matter in the field. In their explanation, they said that the difference between the city and the village in socialist countries is a sign of the revival of the national economy, and this difference in capitalist systems is a sign of the exploitation of farmers. In general, they did not welcome new questions and considered them as opposing the communists.
In the middle of the war, Stalin ostensibly disbanded the Comintern school. With the German attack, the Comintern school was moved to the Ufa city of Bashkortostan, but there was no sign like a board on its head. Some people used to study in this school so that later they would be transferred to their own country and fight for the communist system. These secret scientific centers were named Agricultural Institute to avoid detection. In these schools, the titles of Lenin were taught, in the works of Trotsky and Plekhanov were criticized.
There were no human relations between professors at Moscow University and other Soviet universities. All professors had nicknames and none of them asked any questions about their career and livelihood. If they mentioned their real names, they would be reprimanded. The whole purpose of these people was to fight for the establishment of the communist system in their countries. In Africa and in Latin America, there were successes for these communist activists. But most of these communists surrendered to Western capitalist thinking and system. The most unacceptable aspect for these people was the pretense and hypocrisy that caused them to reject communist thought and define the Soviet system only in appearance.
Unlike Stalin, Brezhnev was calmer. Stalin did not trust anyone and even imprisoned the wives of some of his relatives. He emphasized that my relatives should not marry Jews. Khrushchev was more popular. Despite the lack of humanity among the communist leaders, it must be emphasized that there were many human manifestations among the Soviet people. Russian people gave great help to the people of other countries and did not look down on them. For us students, they did exemplary work and really made beautiful sacrifices at times. In general, Russians were and are extremely emotional people compared to the people of Western countries. For the Russians at that time, ideological relations were superior to any economic and commercial relations. With the countries that had good relations with the Soviet Union, they did grants such as sending fuel. However, they did not have good relations with some countries like Yugoslavia and Poland from the very beginning of the protest and conflict.
Soviet theorists used the literature of Marx, Engels, and Lenin in all subjects, such as history, philosophy, geography, literature, linguistics, and other sciences. After Lenin came to office, he partisanized literature and organization. Organization meant the formation of resistance groups with secret major parts. Military structures and committees were mostly secret in these organizations. In this idea, every person should have two faces. The appearance that was shown to everyone and the inner thoughts of an individual could not be seen. For this reason, it is said in history that Marx hated Russia and did not think that the first practical structure of his ideas would be established in Russia. Of course, the statues of Marx and Engels and many others were built everywhere in the Soviet Union after the establishment of the communist system.
Contrary to what was raised against national nationalists, communist Russia's main goal was to occupy other countries under the pretext of socialist revolutions and fight against non-communist regimes. With financial and military aid, they defamed the national figures of Latin American countries, Iran, and some European countries and did not give a good name to figures like Gandhi, who had done a great job for his country against the West.
The claims made by our professors about eliminating the differences between the city and the village had no concrete examples in reality. Lenin did not accept the villagers and approved the workers. Lenin's slogan was to unite the workers of the world. For this reason, after years of killing and fighting with farmers, until the end of the Brezhnev period, farmers did not have birth certificates. This claim to eliminate the differences between the city and the village was not true. The young people of the village could come to the city only when the village head gave permission because they did not have identity documents and birth certificates and nowhere would accept them.
During our studies, our group had several visits to Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Among the republics inside the Soviet Union, we traveled to Latvia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and some places in Moscow. These visits were made with the permission of Moscow University and accompanied by two soldiers. The situation of republics inside the Soviet Union was different. For example, in Latvia, no one spoke to us in Russian, and everyone spoke English. There was a miserable situation in Armenia. Shops were empty of food, and public hygiene was very poor. There was only yogurt to buy in the shops. In Azerbaijan, the situation was a little better, and they treated us better. In Armenia, people only surrounded us to buy something from us. In Ukraine, the situation was better than in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Leningrad was a beautiful city, but some prostitutes were secretly working in the hotels of this city. Prostitution was prohibited in the entire Soviet Union, but this service was provided secretly in this hotel. Prostitutes in the city also used taxis for rent to do these activities type with the coordination of the city police. This was very surprising for us. At one time, these activities and free love and dealing with sexual instincts were prohibited, and at another time, they were allowed, and this was a sign of the constant change of norms in the Soviet communist thought.
It was very difficult to study in a place where 250 of the 300 students were women. That is, if we did not go to them, they would come to us under an excuse. The goal of most of them was marriage because Iranians in Moscow University were good options for marriage They were government employees, they were older than other students, and they had a more acceptable appearance, and they were justified in many situations. For example, African students really had nothing to offer, while Iranians talked about culture, history, Hafez, and Saadi, and these topics were welcomed by Russians.
The major difference that should be mentioned here is the difference between the employees of the Iranian Embassy in the Soviet Union and vice versa. There were more than 100 employees of the Soviet embassy in Iran under titles such as commercial and cultural affiliations, but there were only 7 employees of the Iranian embassy in the Soviet Union. The Russians were not willing to reduce their personnel in Iran under any circumstances. Business at that time in the Soviet Union was completely governmental, and therefore, all the organization was done by the Soviet Embassy in Iran. There was no private sector in the Soviet economy at that time that Iranians could communicate with.
During our studies in the Soviet Union, there was no intimacy in the atmosphere of the university that would cause us to lean towards communist ideas. One of our companions was a simple-minded person who sometimes repeated communist slogans, but when he faced our bad treatment, he stopped these slogans. The authorities of Moscow University insisted that all students should participate in the celebrations and events held in Red Square. Iranians usually did not participate in these celebrations. Another area where young generations get to know each other in Moscow is various dance and singing ceremonies. Religious ceremonies were prevented in the Soviet Union, and some very limited religious ceremonies were held in the Republic of Tatarstan and Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
In all educational spaces, including Comintern schools, the principles of Marx and Lenin's ideas must have been taught, and even if the students were not interested in these courses, they could give the appropriate answers to the questions raised. In the university, some students who understood our opinions borrowed money from us and did not pay it back, defining this act as part of their struggle. But as I mentioned earlier, there were many positive aspects of this period. For example, the Russians invited us to their wedding ceremony through the dormitory and did everything in their power to welcome us, and this was a sign of their hospitality.
Zeinab Chaldavi, an expert at the Institute for Political and International Studies