The Objectives and Functions of the Russian Consulate in Rasht second half of the Qajar Era

Great game or competition between imperial expansionists, Russia and Britain, in the nineteenth century, to get the thorough control of the Central Asia, was the fact that Iran was unwillingly involved in it. Strategy, rules and tactics of the game, which are defined over the period of time and changed in terms of conditional requirements, including the establishment of political representatives and consulates of the two powers in Iran. In the Qajar era, governments of Britain and Russia, after the establishment of the political representatives in Tehran, due to their benefits, attempted to inaugurate gradually the consulate in the city of Rasht which in the beginning of the twentieth century changed into the widespread networks throughout the country. The current study, through application of historical, descriptive, and analytical approaches as well as using library resources and archival documents, examines the causes of the establishment of the consulate in Rasht and functions assigned to it. This study shows that the inauguration of the consulate in Rasht by England or Russia are more due to the political and strategic goals of these two governments than any other elements.