The Left in Iran and the Weight of the October Revolution Legacy

The October Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Bolsheviks under Lenin, which laid the groundwork for the Soviet state at Iran's northern borders, had at least two significant initial messages for a country that had experienced the Constitutional Revolution (1906) just a decade earlier and was undergoing political instability and crises. The first message of the October Revolution for Iranians was the prospect of ending unequal and oppressive relations with a powerful neighbor that was not only a supporter of despotism and an autocratic court but also had been at odds with constitutionalism and democracy in Iran. Furthermore, in 1907, it had reached an agreement with another superpower of the time, the British government, to divide their southern neighbor into two spheres of influence. The constitutionalists in Iran had not forgotten that Russian forces, commanded by Colonel Liakhov, had shelled the Iranian National Assembly about a year after the 1907 agreement, in June 1908, and suppressed Iranian freedom fighters. Just a few weeks after seizing power, the government emerging from the Russian October Revolution, led by Lenin, issued a call on December 5, promising a new era in international relations to the 'working Muslims of Russia and the East.' This announcement spoke of 'great events in the making,' the 'end of the bloody world war,' and the birth of a 'world of workers and liberated nations,' as well as the annulment of 'all secret treaties and agreements that the deposed Tsar of Russia had signed with England and France' against Eastern countries. The announcement explicitly nullified 'the treaties and agreements of Russia and England that had divided Iran between the two imperialist countries' and addressed the Iranian people, stating, 'O Iranians! We promise you that as soon as military operations are over, our soldiers will vacate your soil, and you, the people of Iran, will have the right to freely decide your future.' The December 5, 1917 announcement had a wide-ranging impact on the politically charged atmosphere of Iran at the time and opened a new political horizon for Iranian constitutionalists, as one of the main pillars of domestic despotism was dismantled, and the place of the foreign enemy was taken by revolutionaries who promised friendship and a new policy that could align with the ideals of the Constitutional Revolution. Thus, for intellectuals, activists, and the public fed up with foreign intervention and thirsty for equal and just international relations, the October Revolution, the Soviet government, and Lenin became symbols of hope for building a new world. Traces of this hope can also be found in the literature of that time, as when Malek-o-Sho'arā Bahār spoke about the October Revolution, saying, 'What flame is this that comes from that pathway?' and for Aref Qazvini, Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution, became the 'angel of mercy.' The second message of the October Revolution to Iran in the post-Constitutional Revolution era was social justice and its place in the political struggle of that time. For the forces advocating social justice at that time, namely leftist parties and organizations, the October Revolution was a model and a spiritual and political asset. The left in Iran had been influenced by two significant intellectual movements since the years before the Constitutional Revolution (1906). Some intellectuals and activists of that time were more in touch with European leftist thoughts advocating social justice and social democracy (such as the Social Democrats and the Democratic Party) and viewed social justice within the framework of reform and its integration with democracy. Alongside this group, there were those who were connected to the revolutionary movements in the Caucasus and beyond, leaning more towards the radical left. Some Iranian workers of that time worked in the industries of this region and learned their first experiences of union and party work there. The proximity and cooperation of the left in Iran with the most radical opponents of Tsarism, namely the Russian Social Democratic Party, dated back to the years before the October Revolution. During the years of the communists' struggle to overthrow the Tsar, they were in contact with the Russian Revolutionary Party and helped deliver the publications of the Social Democrats to Russia. In Iran, the Justice Party was established in the spring of 1296 (1917), just a few months before the October Revolution, and figures such as Haydar Amu Oghli, Bahram Aghayev, Nikbin, Otis Sultan Zadeh, Salamollah Javid, and Pishavari were elected to leadership. This party sent a message of solidarity to the Third Communist International Congress (composed of communist parties from various countries) that was initiated by Lenin. The Justice Party changed its name to the Communist Party of Iran at the Anzali Congress on 2 Tir 1299 (1920) and issued a statement declaring the duty of the Communist Party of Iran to be 'cooperation with the Soviet Union against global capitalism and the Qajar monarchy.' At the Anzali Congress, most representatives were from Azerbaijan and Gilan, including communist intellectuals of this period like Ghafarzadeh (journalist), Pishavari (teacher), Karim Nikbin (journalist), and Hossein Sharqi (journalist). Some of the main radical left cadres of Iran at that time, such as Otis Sultan Zadeh (Mikaelian), Pishavari, and Haydar Amu Oghli, were in contact with the Bolshevik leaders and Lenin himself. Sultan Zadeh, who was a member of the Russian Social Democratic Party and played an active role in the October Revolution and the events that followed, along with figures like Nikbin and Ayyubzadeh, represented the Communist Party of Iran at the Second Congress of the Third International (Comintern) and was elected to the executive committee of the Comintern. In 1921, as an advisor to Lenin, he held a leadership position in the Near East organ at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs in Moscow. From the height of a century of clear judgment regarding the fate of both messages, it is not difficult to see that the hope for the beginning of a new era between the two neighbors and the end of relations based on domination between Iran and Russia gradually faded. Just a few years after 1917, we witnessed the gradual reconstruction of unequal relations in new forms, and the global power play brought the Soviet government back to more or less the same unilateral policies and international deals. This negative trend accelerated after Lenin's death and the complete dominance of the Bolsheviks and Stalin over the state bureaucracy, as short- and long-term Soviet interests replaced revolutionary slogans. The overt intervention of the Soviet Union in Iran's affairs and the Tudeh Party during World War II and the events in Azerbaijan were clear examples of this meaningful shift and transformation in Soviet foreign policy. Simultaneously, some of the negative consequences of the October Revolution were imposed on Iran without the will and desire of Iranians. The existence of a communist country at Iran's northern borders placed it at the center of the Cold War between the conflicting camps, and this important geopolitical data played a significant role in shaping the political atmosphere of Iran and the intervention of great powers in its events. Regarding social justice and the defense of the working class, the October Revolution, despite its initial positive impact, does not have a brilliant record in Iran. The gradual dominance of the Bolsheviks over the state apparatus and the widespread influence of Lenin and later Stalin became a factor for the rift among the left forces in Iran and the radicalization of a significant portion of them, leading to the spread of Third World Marxism-Leninism. From the very first years of the October Revolution, leftist intellectuals and activists did not agree on the type of analysis of the conditions in Iran. A trend more supportive of deepening the achievements of the Constitutional Revolution and the growth of civil society and the development of a market economy existed (reformists and some among the radicals like Haydar Amu Oghli). However, the radical trend in Iran viewed underdevelopment and the early stages of industrialization as part of the socialist and workers' revolution (Kamran Aghazadeh, Sultan Zadeh). All Eastern communists, including Lenin himself, did not agree with such an extreme analysis of Eastern countries. However, the October Revolution created a specific atmosphere, and some in Iran, inspired by this experience, sought to form Iranian 'Soviets.' The establishment of the Socialist Republic of Gilan (1299-1300) and the failed expedition to Tehran (Shakiri, 1995, Atabaki, 1380) were among the consequences of this trend. A significant portion of the Iranian communists who participated in the October Revolution and those who later sought refuge in the Soviet Union and the world's first workers' state due to the political situation in Iran faced a painful fate. The Stalinist repression machine also targeted the immigrant communists. In July 1938, Sultan Zadeh, like dozens of leading cadres of the Russian Communist Party such as Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Bukharin, was executed on Stalin's orders for treason against Lenin's ideals and the October Revolution. Alongside him, other prominent Iranian figures such as Hesabi, Zareh, Nikbin, Ashouri, Kangavari, and dozens of others lost their lives during the bloody purges of Stalin or in the inhumane exile to Siberia. The left in Iran was trapped by the October Revolution. The October Revolution played a long-term destructive role in the intellectual life and ideology of social justice advocates. The negative aspects of the Tudeh Party's experience in the years following 1320 were partly due to the gradual dominance of Leninist understanding of political struggle, instrumental approaches to democracy, and its attachment to the Soviet Union. This blind faith in the first socialist land was so strong that the Tudeh Party was enamored with Stalin's personality, ignoring the countless Iranian and non-Iranian victims of his bloody repressions, and when the dictator passed away, they mourned and grieved. In the psychology of the communists of this era, criticizing the Soviet Union meant pouring water into the mill of 'imperialism and reaction,' while loving and supporting the first socialist country in the world was considered part of revolutionary duties. This blind faith in the first socialist land was so strong that the Tudeh Party was enamored with Stalin's personality, ignoring the countless Iranian and non-Iranian victims of his bloody repressions, and when the dictator passed away, they mourned and grieved. In the psychology of the communists of this era, criticizing the Soviet Union meant pouring water into the mill of 'imperialism and reaction,' while loving and supporting the first socialist country in the world was considered part of revolutionary duties. Intellectually, in the decades following 1332, the left in Iran, from the Tudeh Party to the armed groups of the Fadaiyan Khalq in the 40s and 50s and radical organizations like Rahkar, did nothing but reproduce the Leninist and Stalinist culture established by the October Revolution and the Bolshevik dominance. For all of them, the October Revolution, Lenin, and the Bolshevik style were absolute truths around which there should be no questioning. The lack of belief in democracy and human rights, the absence of dialogue with other political forces, adventurism and sectarianism, closed and undemocratic party structures, and the pursuit of power through violence, along with the glorification of revolution and anti-imperialist struggle, formed interconnected pieces of a revolutionary-Leninist culture that radical left groups, despite all their differences, were trapped in. They approached the analysis of the situation in Iranian society with the same vocabulary, concepts, theoretical apparatus, and understanding of Lenin and the October Revolution, shaping their strategies and policies. Apart from the theoretical aspect, what distinguished the Tudeh Party of Iran from other leftist groups was a specific political organizational dependency that had formed since the Stalin era and the Azerbaijan Democratic Party, which was reproduced in various forms in subsequent decades. For the radical left forces, the experience of the 1357 Revolution was a significant laboratory for testing the credibility of Leninist thought and culture. The failure of the Iranian Revolution and its horrific consequences were also the first major blow to the Marxist-Leninist beliefs of Iranian communists. The first critical tendencies among the radical left emerged alongside the collapse of the socialist camp and the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a critical re-examination of the October Revolution experience, socialist countries, Marxism-Leninism, and the misfortunes of various generations of communists flourished among intellectuals and leftist activists in Iran. It is true that the critique of the October Revolution and Leninist culture and style in Iran does not limit itself to contemporary times and has roots in earlier decades. The reformist left in Iran, born with the Constitutional Revolution, and figures like Khalil Maleki and his companions in the Third Force raised the banner of opposition to Russian communism and engaged in a critical distancing from the Leninist model of politics, party, and power. However, the voice of this left was not much heard amid the tumult of revolution and revolutionary movements, as the spirit and philosophy of the October Revolution and Lenin had overshadowed the political atmosphere of Iran for decades.