Illumination of the Ownership of Russians in Three Cities: Rasht, Tabriz and Astarabad (1900 - 1921)

Throughout history, Iran has always been invaded by foreign countries such as Russia. Coincident with the entrance of Russian forces to Iran, and their opening of consulates in northern cities of Iran such as Rasht, Tabriz and Astarabad, the Russians expanded their range of influence in Iran. Russians exerted power in these regions and interfered in the internal affairs of cities. In fact, the real power was in their hands and they even sometimes chose the rulers of the cities themselves. Russians gradually started to seize the real estate and lands of the people. They bought or rented a large part of this real estate. Most of the valuable real estate of these regions was occupied by the Russians. Until the First World War, the Russian administration had special mechanisms for possessing the lands of these regions but after the 1917 Russian Revolution, these mechanisms stopped and the occupation of lands by the Russians was terminated. This article aims to study the patterns of Russian ownership and their buying and selling of lands in three cities i.e. Rasht, Tabriz and Astarabad from 1900 to 1921. The research uses a descriptive-analytic method and relies on library resources and some records to illuminate the different aspects of this issue.