Russian and British Consular Relations in Sistan at the End of the Qajar Period

The competition between Russia and England in Iran for the purpose of developing possessions and concluding concession contracts started from the beginning of the Qajar period in the 19th century and gradually intensified. One of the factors that intensified the rivalry between Russia and England in Iran was the issue of India. British to protect India and Russians to disturb the British in India were applying many policies in parts of Iran. The issue of India and some other factors caused the rivalry between Russia and England in the last years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century to be more concentrated in the eastern regions of Iran, especially Sistan. The competition of these two European countries in the east of Iran had reached such a height that they established a consulate in Sistan to achieve their goals. By establishing a consulate in Sistan, these two great colonial powers, on the one hand, wanted to know about the plans of the rivals and on the other hand, sought to advance their goals and interests. The confrontation between the Russian and British consulates in Sistan along with the positions of the central government of Iran and the local rulers of the region caused complex relations between these two consulates in Sistan. The most important issue of the present article is what was the relationship between the Russian and British consulates in Sistan? The assumption of this article is that the relations between the Russian and British consulates in Sistan were more competitive and confrontational. Of course, they interacted with each other regarding cultural issues and political issues in emergency situations. This writing has been done in a historical method with a descriptive-analytical method using library sources and documents