Message from Bagirov on the Azerbaijani Majlis

[handwritten:] 553 words 03-30 23/12/45 02-05 [two illegible, possibly additional addresses]

To Cde. Stalin

To Cde. Molotov

To Cde. Beriya

To Cde. Malenkov

After the Muharram religious holiday recess, the Azerbaijani Majlis has renewed its work.

The Majlis has adopted a law to create regular popular militia units. The law envisions drafting citizens who have reached age 20 into the ranks of the militia for a year and a half. With this law the Majlis empowers the government to buy armaments for the people’s militia units, both inside Iran and outside [the country].

A law has been adopted about creating a military field tribunal for three months to combat crimes directed against the interests of Azerbaijani autonomy; several changes have also been introduced in the legislative code regarding the punishment of criminals – bribe-takers, embezzlers of state property, et al.  A law has been adopted about taxation.

The Majlis approved the internal administrative budget.

The laws we recommended which were adopted by the Majlis have not yet been published in the press and sent to us for our familiarization.

At the present time the government of Azerbaijan is occupied with working out the structure of individual ministries and corresponding directorates in the provinces of Azerbaijan.

Encountering great difficulties in the selection of qualified personnel who are familiar with the workers’ cause, the national government, with maximum use of loyally-inclined officials and specialists, have again requested that we help them with people. We reported this the first time in a report of 19 December. We request your instructions.

A worker of the Iranian Ministry of Finance came from Tehran to Tabriz on a special mission of the Chairman of the Iranian Majlis, Tabatabai, and gave Pishevari a verbal invitation to take part in the Iranian government and help liberate all Iran.

Pishevari, evaluating Tabatabai’s appeal as a maneuver of Iranian reactionary circles trying to corrupt the leadership of the Azerbaijani Democratic Party with bribery, pointedly refused.

It has been established that since the very beginning of the democratic movement merchants, landowners, and other property owners, fearing a change of regime, transferred money and valuables to Tehran via the British consul.

During November and December the British bank in Tabriz received from local rich people more then 30 million rials. Moreover, a number of merchants handed over gold, diamonds, and other of their valuables to the British bank for storage.

After the national government was formed and control was established over local banks similar transfers via the British bank stopped.

We gave orders that all measures be taken to convince the landowners, merchants, and traders to take back their investments in the British bank and put them into circulation [torgovyy oborot].

Having finished disarming military garrisons and the gendarmerie, the partisans began eliminating armed bands created by reactionary landowners.

In the village of Khizly in the Mianeh region the bands of merchants Dzhebrail Khan, Gusein, Khan, and others were eliminated. Nine chieftains of the bands were shot during the elimination of the bands by partisans.  The partisans suffered one killed.

An order was given to urgently begin the elimination of the remaining bands created by the reactionaries and first of all try to bring about demoralization in the ranks of the bands via the clergy and influential people.

As a counterweight to the appeal of the reactionary Tehran clergy to foreign states, we recommended to the comrades in Tehran and Tabriz that [they] organize an appeal of loyally-minded clergy to the same foreign states to complain to the Tehran government.

According to a report from Rasht, on the initiative of a group of members of the “Dzhangal” and “Tudeh” parties and also merchants without party affiliation, on 21 December a meeting was organized of representatives of all strata of the population of the city of Rasht.  More then 500 people showed up at the meeting instead of the 200 invited.

An appeal was adopted to the population of Gilyan and the text of a telegram to the Shah, Majlis, Prime Minister, Majlis deputies, and newspaper editors was approved with a demand to accelerate elections to the enjumens, create a democratic government in Tehran, put the traitor Seid-Ziya-ed-Din on trial, and use 50% of the taxes collected in the provinces for local needs.

The appeal and the telegram were signed by 165 people, mainly merchants, landowners, and clergy.

M. D. Bagirov

23 December 1945

Checked 0615 23.12.45 April OPS Duty Officer Kupryazhina; received N 16;  received 0510 23.12.45 by Korshunova; OPS Duty Officer Kupryazhina