A Study on the Expelling of Iranian Emigrants from the Soviet Union to Iran (1926-1941)

The advent of communism in the Soviet Union caused many changes in the country's laws, one of which was the allegiance law. The government expelled many Iranians who worked in the Soviet industry, in accordance with this law. Iran's government in the Reza Shah era had first tried to employ an expert and professional emigrant workforce in modernization, however, in the following era the government's approach to these people changed from an economic to a security one (i.e. keeping them under permanent surveillance) due to espionage activities of the Soviet Union in Iran involving the help of the emigrants. This study attempts to investigate the expelling of Iranian emigrants from Russia from 1926 to 1941.Methodology/Approach: This study analyzed history on the basis of historical documents in archival databases and original texts.Research Hypothesis: The employment of emigrants by the Soviet Union as spies who helped in spreading communism in Iran affected the interactions of Iran's government with these emigrants. TheIran's government's approach toward the expelled emigrants changed from viewing them as an influential and economically valuable workforce in the Reza Shah Modernization era to that of foreigner spies and infiltration agents.