The Study of Developments of Iran's Relations with Russia during Safavid Period

The manifestation of Iran's prominent place in the relations between East and West from the contemporary period is clear for history readers. This period, which partly coincided with the establishment of the national government in Iran by the Safavids, provided the opportunity for European countries to begin diplomatic and stable relations with Iran. In the meantime, it seemed, due to reasons such the territorial expansions and Russia's political and military authority, that Russia was more capable of establishing and developing relationships with Iran. But the obstacles arising from internal occasional problems and competing and conflicting government's measures, in the Safavid period, prevented these relations to progress.This article aims at reviewing the processes and dominations of Iran's relations with Russia duringSafavid period through reading the authentic sources and with documentary methods. The study also aims at challenging the ups and downs of the relations between the two countries at this historical era through a scientific approach and explaining how ill-fated relations led to tensions between the two governments.The result of the research suggests that the path of relations between the Safavid government and Russia, unlike most cases of Safavid relations with Europe, did not reach a fruitful outcome due to a lack of understanding of international relations and growing domestic tensions. It was a test for identifying the colonial powers and Tsarist of Russia from Iran's geopolitical position and at the same time, their inability to manage the country. The outcome of this test was the Russian military aggression in the territory of Iran.