At the Dawn of the Cold War

The Soviet-American Crisis over Iranian Azerbaijan, 1941–1946

Jamil Hasanli

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2006
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780742570900
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Middle Eastern History
• Index: History

For half a century, the United States and the Soviet Union were in conflict. But how and where did the Cold War begin? Jamil Hasanli answers these intriguing questions in At the Dawn of the Cold War. He argues that the intergenerational crisis over Iranian Azerbaijan (1945–1946) was the first event that brought the Soviet Union to a confrontation with the United States and Britain after the period of cooperation between them during World War II. Based on top-secret archive materials from Soviet and Azerbaijani archives as well as documents from American, British, and Iranian sources, the book details Iranian Azerbaijan's independence movement, which was backed by the USSR, the Soviet struggle for oil in Iran, and the American and British reactions to these events. These events were the starting point of the longer historical period of unarmed conflict between the Soviets and the West that is now known as the Cold War. This book is a major contribution to our understanding of the Cold War and international politics following WWII.

Table of contents

• The Harvard Cold War Studies Book Series
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 - Penetration of the Soviet Troops into Iran and Strengthening of the Soviet Position in Iranian Azerbaijan
• 2 - The Intensification of Soviet Policy in Iranian Azerbaijan
• 3 - The Struggle for Oil and the Government Crisis in Tehran
• 4 - End of War in Europe: Decisions of Moscow and Iranian Azerbaijan
• 5 - Creation of the Democratic Party and the Idea of Autonomy
• 6 - Decision of the Popular Congress of Azerbaijan
• 7 - Establishment of the National Government of Iranian Azerbaijan
• 8 - The Situation in Iranian Azerbaijan and the Moscow Meeting of Foreign Ministers
• 9 - National Government of Iranian Azerbaijan: Between Autonomy and Independence
• 10 - January 1946: Beginning of Reforms in Tabriz
• 11 - February 1946: Qavam as-Saltanah’s Moscow Visit
• 12 - Starting Point of the Cold War: Iranian Azerbaijan, March 1946
• 13 - Withdrawal from Iranian Azerbaijan and the Oil Policy of the Soviets
• 14 - The Beginning of Negotiations between the Central Government and Azerbaijan
• 15 - Strengthening of the U.S. Influence in Iran
• 16 - Failure of Stalin’s Policy in Iranian Azerbaijan
• Conclusion
• Index
• About the Author