Association of Iran-Soviet Cultural Relations At: A Study

In the hectic aftermath of the Allied invasion of Iran and Reza Shah’s abdication the Association of Iran-Soviet Cultural Relations was established with the aim of cultivating amity and common understanding between the two nations, with subsidiary branches later being established in major cities, namely Tabriz, Mashhad, Gorgan, and Isfahan. The Association played a pivotal role in promoting Soviet cultural diplomacy in Iran in the period 1942-1953. Following the coup of 1953 (28Mordad Coup d’etat) the Association’s activities lost momentum and ceased to publish its magazine only a year after its first volume. The Association restarted its activities after a couple of years; however, it only managed to be a shadow of its early years. So far, no research has been conducted on the Association of Iran-Soviet Cultural Relations, thus, the current article has used library and archival sources to study the Association’s establishment, and applied descriptive-analytical method to assess the circumstances under which it declined.