The weekly scientific meeting of history was held on Wednesday, August 21, 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: As mentioned earlier, the Bolsheviks had the first political thought that examined all scientific fields with the ideas of Marx and Lenin. For this reason, the classical Russian authors were isolated, and the writers who only worked with political color were highlighted. One of these authors was Nikolai Astrosky, who wrote a book depicting the bravery of the Soviet Union during World War II. Students of Moscow University had to read this 200-page book at the beginning of their studies, even though it was not very heavy in terms of literature. The famous Russian psychologist Pablo Von wrote a letter to the political office of the Bolsheviks and stated that the actions of the Bolsheviks caused the initial appearance of the idea of fascism in the international arena and that Mussolini and Hitler followed your example. It should be noted that in countries where ideology is entwined with politics, parts of history are either not properly studied or distorted. In the early years of working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we had meetings and discussions with Russian scientific and research institutions. One of these institutions was the Institute of Oriental Studies. This institute was the main center of Iranology in Russia. The staff of this institute were very productive and experienced. In those years, this institute was researching Reza Shah and Fawzia and such topics, so we suggested that they define scientific projects about the Islamic Republic of Iran. But they answered that this revolution is a new revolution and experience has shown us that revolutions will continue to have many changes. In this context, they used the example of Mao in China, who was once respected as a god among the Chinese people, but his popularity gradually decreased.

Continuing the description of the study period of the Iranian group in Moscow, I must say that the Iranian students had a very polite and distinguished face because they had certain norms defined for them, and regardless of their opinions, they were respected by the Soviet people and university professors. The professors who especially taught social sciences, such as the history of the Communist Party, historical materialism, scientific communism, etc., in the university were in some way connected with the Soviet security agencies, and these organizations had representatives under the name Komsomol (Soviet Communist Youth) among the students and in their residences. These representatives informed the relevant professors about the various issues of the students, especially their livelihood issues. For this reason, students were placed under the magnifying glass of professors. As mentioned before, despite repeated reminders, some relationships were formed between Iranian and Russian students. During these human relations, Russian students told Iranian students that you are from a different culture, customs and world and you are better than us and our society and do not expect us to appear like you in human relations because we have a very different culture from you. Our study period in Moscow was one of the best periods of people's livelihood since the Bolsheviks came to power because the political, economic, livelihood, etc. situation in Russia worsened from the late 70s.

During our student days, we got to know two Iranian ambassadors named Amirteymour Kalali and Ahmad Ardalan. The late Kalali was present in Moscow from 1971 to 1974 and Ahmed Ardalan from 1974 to the eve of the Islamic Revolution. They were very reasonable people. After the revolution, when we were working at the embassy, we were in direct contact with 4 ambassadors, who were also very personable. Our relationship with the ambassadors before the revolution was limited to attending holidays at the embassy. The Iranian embassy used to invite a group of Iranian students for various holidays. Amirteymour Kalali was frank compared to other ambassadors, and despite the warnings given by SAVAK, he had a democratic tone in his words.

One of the problems of Soviet society at that time was the presence of drunk people on the streets, which made comings and goings dangerous after 7 and 8 pm. Sometimes, these people attacked foreigners and even Russians themselves and stole their money. Once two people steeved me and I took advantage of their drunkenness and ran to some people who were on that street and saved myself. In total, there was theft in those years in the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, there were centers with the name Vitrosvitel (resuscitator). These centers helped young people who got too drunk and couldn't get back to normal. The stomachs of these people were washed so that they slowly regained consciousness and then they were released from the center. In general, there was a lot of disturbance and harassment in the public streets at that time.

During our studies, we sometimes encountered Tudeh Party people in restaurants, theaters, cinemas, etc. Once, in a restaurant in Baku, we talked with one of these people. He very much regretted that he had fled to the Soviet Union and wished that the Shah would provide conditions for the repentant Tudeh Party people to return to the country.

From 1976 onwards, which was considered the golden age of the Soviet Union, the situation in the Soviet Union became alarming. Brezhnev was also not in control as he should have been. The cause of Brezhnev's condition was his dependence on sedative drugs, and these pills had a negative effect on his body and mind. Brezhnev's jaw had changed due to the use of these drugs, and he could not pronounce some words correctly; it was a source of laughter among the public. In the last years of Brezhnev's tenure, several important events took place in the world arena. One of these events was the Islamic Revolution of Iran. This revolution was a shock for the Soviet Union, like many other countries, and it put this country in a bad predicament. They were always looking for the reason for not predicting their security and intelligence services in Iran. Another event of this period that seemed to make Brezhnev's job more difficult was the entry of the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979. This attack left many costs, casualties, and wounded. Finally, the Soviet Union was forced to leave Afghanistan in a hurry. After the Islamic revolution, all Tudeh members who were stationed in East Germany came to Iran. In those years, this sect adopted a new tactic in support of the revolution, and by using this apparent tactic, it got a new life. Inwardly, these people adopted the same communist method with the support of the Soviet Embassy, Afghanistan, and Eastern Bloc countries.

Three months before Brezhnev's death, another event occurred in 1982, and that was the escape of Vladimir Kuzichkin, an intelligence and security officer of the Soviet KGB, from Iran. This officer came to Iran in 1977 and worked under his supervision, Zwarzhin, at the same time. The head of the KGB at the time had warned Zwarzhin that Iran is not like Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Iranians can make you fall back in a moment. You should work in Iran with collective senses and watch out for SAVAK's actions because Iran's security services are much more capable than Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kuzichkin was one of the illegal residents of the Soviet security apparatus. As stated in the memoirs of the KGB in Iran, Kuzichkin suffered from the duality that dominated the thoughts and actions of the society from a young age, and he had thoughts that contradicted the thoughts of the society in relation to the communists. Two years after being sent to Iran, Kuzichkin was connected with the services of England. After some time, he escaped from the border of Türkiye to England, where he raised a storm against the Soviet Union. He gave the list of Iranian Tudeh Party People to MI6, and England also provided this list to the Iranian security services, and the then government of Iran also started arresting Tudeh people. Some of these Tudeh people who were working in different organizations and ministries of Iran were executed. Currently, some Russian diplomats who were expelled from Iran at that time have high responsibilities in the West Asia Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and do not have good memories of Iran (they have an anti-Iranian view).

Brezhnev's era was the peak of the prosperity of the Soviet Union, and the Shah of Iran visited the Soviet Union twice during this period. During the Shah's visit to the Soviet Union in 1965, the preparations for the construction of Steel Factories, mines, and other industrial facilities in Iran were agreed upon. The next visit of the Shah took place in 1972 when we were students at Moscow University. Despite Iran's positive economic relations with the Soviet Union, SAVAK agents distinguished between Soviet and American employees and usually searched and prosecuted Soviet forces more than American forces. This angered the Soviet forces in Iran. The security agencies have their own arrangements and can destroy the results of the efforts of other organizations and ministries with quick action. At that time, Soviet employees working in Iran were thoroughly searched every morning, but they did not dare to do this with American employees. These measures were taken in the conditions where the Soviet experts were working excellently in the Isfahan Steel Factory and its subsidiary factories. These experts built the Steel Factory in 4 years, and at the same time, they prepared coal and iron ore mines and other lava-generating materials for iron Steel Factory furnaces. After the revolution, due to the Soviet Union's non-agreement with the goods-for-goods agreement, Iran went towards the Italian factories and built the Mobarakeh Steel Factory in Isfahan. Mobarakeh Steel Factory was built based on the electric arc and was different from Soviet structures. The costs of the electric arc were very high, and the Iranian government had to give currency to the Italian government in exchange for it, while Iran was exporting gas to the Soviet Union instead of currency. We visited the Italian Pianti Factory during the time of Mr. Izadi. It was a more modern factory, and the metal melting system was different, but it also had a staggering cost. Of course, as always, after some time, Iranian experts took the initiative in Mobarakeh Steel Factory and now it is one of the most modern factories in the country in the field of melting.

During the time of Stalin, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev, some security forces fled to Western countries. For example, during Khrushchev's time, Ellen B. Kosfaki fled to Western countries and gave all the information about the Soviet missile industry to England and America. Following the serial escape of the Soviet forces, on September 6, 1976, the first lieutenant of the Soviet Air Force, named Viktor Vilenko, fled to Japan from the Far East with the most modern military aircraft of the time, the MiG-25. At that time, the Soviet Union did not allow pilots to fly solo. Viktor Vilenko had obtained a solo flight permit, and after the flight, he entered the territory of Japan and became a refugee. At first, the Soviets claimed that the pilot lost his way in the sky and was forced to enter Japanese territory and that the Japanese air force forced him to land. For this reason, the Soviet consul was brought face to face with Viktor Vilenko, and in this meeting, Victor told the consul directly that he came to Japan of his own free will, and the reason for this was his hatred of the Soviet system. Whatever the Soviets did to bring him back was not effective. The plane was kept for two months, and during this time, American experts arrived in Japan to visit it and took all the information from this Soviet aircraft. After two months, the aircraft was returned to the Soviet Union.

Sixteen days after this date, on September 23, 1976, another aircraft called Antonov 2, piloted by a person named Zasimov, entered the territory of Iran. This issue damaged the international credibility of the Soviet Union. The Soviets wrote a strong letter to the Shah of Iran, and in return, the Shah refused and handed over the pilot and the aircraft to the Soviets. Zasimov was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the Soviet Union.

Another great escape in Soviet history during Brezhnev's time was the escape of Arkady Shevchenko, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. He became a refugee in America in 1978. A few years before this escape, he cooperated with American organizations and had lived in America for many years. Shevchenko had an ambitious wife. He used to go back and forth between the Soviet Union and the United States, and he imported goods that were not available in the Soviet Union from the United States and sold them in the Soviet Union at several times the price. Arkady had said somewhere that my wife was not willing to live in America and was only interested in trade between America and the Soviet Union. CIA agents lived on the lower floor of his house and helped him a lot when he escaped and became a refugee. Ms. Shevchenko did not accompany him on the way to refuge and stayed in an apartment that had become a museum of precious items, and in the same apartment, she committed suicide. Despite all the comforts, Shevchenko said that he was tired of the pretense and hypocrisy of some people who call themselves servants of the people and live in well-equipped palaces. Arkady's son was working in the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs at that time and was on the Swiss mission at the time of his father's escape. He was sent back to Moscow as a messenger for fake documents, and he was fired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A family was practically destroyed by Arkady's escape. Arkady himself did not have a good fate in America. At that time, he spent all the income he earned from publishing his books on bad women. Arkady's son did not have the slightest criticism of his father in his memoirs titled Escape from the Corridors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Acardi's son continued teaching in Soviet institutions and never entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Zeinab Chaldavi, an expert at the Institute for Political and International Studies