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SOVIET INFLUENCE GROWS
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Top,
Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny (right)
and UAR President Anwar Sadot attend
inougurotion ceremony of Aswan Dom,
Jonuary 1971 . Center, Russian longuoge
being tought in Egyptian school.
Soviet so ilors and noval ship
atfria, Egypt.
33
Persian revolt can become a key to
a general revolution .... Owing to
Persia's speúal geopolitical position,
and
because of the significance of its libera–
tion for tbe East, it must be conquered
politically fiest of all. This precious key
to revolutions in the East must belong to
the revolution"
(Rimian Foreign Pol–
ícy,
Ivo Lederer, editor, p.
521).
Dueing World War II Russian troops
once agaio surfaced in
lean.
Their offi–
cials weee runoing the northern prov–
inces. By 1944 with the tide of
the wae tuming, Russia began to
squeeze lean in a political vise. The
lranian goveeoment survived only
be–
cause of the backing given it
by
Beítaín
and the United States.
The Soviet Union full well appre–
ciates the important place of lean. It
also appreciates the political and mili–
tary meaning of Beitish withdeawal
from tbe Persian Gulf area.
A.
power vacuum will occur. A.nd like
nature, Russia abbors a vacuum. The
lesson of bistory and past Soviet inten–
tions ought to
be
very instructive in tell–
ing us what happens if Beitain aod
A.meeica fade feom the Peesian Gulf/
Indian Oceanj leanian area.
Britaio vs. the Soviet Union
A.
Russian publicatioo,
N ovoe Vre–
mia,
as far back as May 9, 1889
stated: "Two forces alone are strug·
gling foe supeemacy on the vast expanse
of Asia - Russia and Englaod."
Then analyzing Beitain's desire to
establish spheres of influence in Iran, the
publication pondered whether British
naval might would really be able to
conquer Russian might. On May
1,
1889,
Novoe Vremia
made the observa–
tion: ''Warships, as is well known,
possess the quality of floating, and if
anything causes them to depart ...
the
111premacy of the British influence
Ítl
Southem Persia tuiJJ no longer be a
fact'' (ibiá.,
p.
509).
Can anyone assume the Russiaos view
the situation aoy differently today? That
would
be
a rnighty careless assumption
to make, viewing the realities of world
politics.
The Russians then as now had sorne
very specific plans on bottliog up lean
and the Persian Gulf area.
When the British became involved in