"Russian battalion" in Persia: Why Russian deserters converted to Islam and fought for the Shah

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The very beginning of the first war with Russia revealed the backwardness of Iran's military organization, not only in weapons, but also in battle tactics. At the same time, Russian soldiers rushed to Persia since the time of Peter the Great. The Persians received them with great pleasure, and they were "ordered to drill the Persian troops recruited and equipped in the Russian manner." So why did those who became a traitor for Russia turned out to be an example of discipline and dexterity for her enemies.

Persia has long attracted Russian Tsars and Emperors, both commercially and politically. Even Peter I (the Great) sought to conclude a trade agreement with the Shah Sultan Hossein, which would provide Russian merchants with certain privileges. The document was approved in 1720, after which a "Russian consular service" was created in this country. However, then a number of conflicts occurred between the powers, mainly the struggle for territory.

A. Griboyedov's Embassy in Persia and the signing of the Peace Treaty

A hundred years after the end of the Russian-Persian war, the famous Russian poet Alexander Griboyedov was sent to this distant state as an ambassador.

He became the author of the Peace Treaty, according to which Persia recognized the annexation of Armenia, Dagestan and Georgia to the Russian Empire. Then the Russian embassy was opened, which Griboyedov headed. Unfortunately, a year later, the resident minister tragically died - he was accused of violating the moral values and customs of Islam. Some historians believe that the Russian soldiers accompanying him were killed on the same day, but others are convinced that the soldiers simply disappeared into the crowd and stayed to live in Persia.

A battalion of Russian deserters in the service of the shah

Wars between the Russian state and Persia continued. In the border areas, whole settlements began to gradually gather, the inhabitants of which were soldiers who had escaped from the Russian army.

Ordinary soldiers often left the regiments to find work in foreign lands. The Persians willingly used their services, and some even tried to marry their daughters to foreign soldiers. Many men converted to Islam to escape extradition to Russia. Later, a whole regiment was made up of them, called "Yengi-Muslims", which means "new Muslims". - wrote the Decembrist A. S. Gangeblov.

Fleeing sergeant-major of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment Samson Makintsev - officer of the Persian army

The most striking and unusual is the fate of the deserter Samson Makintsev - the fled sergeant of the Nizhny Novgorod dragoon regiment. Thanks to his excellent fighting skills, he was enlisted in the Persian army as an officer. It was he who suggested to the Shah to form a battalion from the deserters, which he soon received under his command, taking the post of sarkhang (colonel). The new military unit accomplished many feats - it brought the Shah victories in the war with the Turks and in Kurdistan. And as a result of the storming of Herat, the Persians began to call the Russian battalion "Bohadyran", which means "heroes".

Makintsev himself began to be called Samson Khan. Despite being surrounded by Muslims for a long time, he retained the true Russian spirit and adherence to his native faith. In the village of Surgul, granted to Samson Yakovlevich, an Orthodox church was built. The service in it was led by a priest who accompanied the warrior on campaigns.

As soon as Emperor Nicholas I learned about the creation of the Russian guard in Persia, he ordered the soldiers to return home. To carry out such a difficult task, they chose Albrandt - the brave captain of the dragoon regiment. His mission was to convince the soldiers to return to Russia. After the captain's heated speech, 35 people agreed to return, but the rest were restrained by their unwillingness to part with their families and children, whom the shah did not want to let go to a foreign country. Albrandt decided to take their families against the will of the Shah, after which almost all the deserters decided to go home. On the way, they met many obstacles, including Samson Khan himself and his priest, but in the end they successfully crossed the border river Araks.

Mass desertion of Russian soldiers at the beginning of the XIX century. and the Persian Cossack Division

After the Russian troops entered Europe, the soldiers realized that life there was completely different. As a result, desertions happened even in the guards of the Russian army. Officers and ordinary soldiers went to Moldavia, Bukovina, Galicia, and the Danube. Many chose to get even further - to Persia. It was this country that became that special place where Russian deserters most often gathered. Subsequently, they left their mark on the history of not only this state, but the entire Middle East, as well as the Caucasus.

The Persian government gladly accepted Russian deserters into the ranks of its troops. They were paid excellent salaries and allowed to live in their own homes.

The garrisons were organized in a Russian military manner, and the Persian soldiers were ordered to drill in the Russian manner. During the battles, disciplined Russian soldiers repeatedly saved Persia from defeat, therefore they earned respect. But the main thing is that they always remained free, because they could leave the Persian army at their own request after 5 years of service. All this ensured a stable influx of deserters from Russia. According to the records of the Jaeger regiment, the average number of refugees reached up to 30 people a year.

Continuing the story of the history of Persia, it is interesting to know How has the fashionable image of Iranian women changed over the past 110 years.