Page 102 - Russo-Persian Postal Relations

1921 - 1926 Reza Khan orchestrate the 1921 Coup The Coup supported
Reza Khan establish and raises to Power by two Swedish h igh-
himself as strongman positioned officers
Swedish Chiefs of the Gen darmerie and the Police were involved
Colonel Reza Khan who later established himself as the new Shah and the Pahlavi dynasty in 1926, was
head of Cossack Brigade, organized a Coup d'Etat 21 February 1921. The new Persian Government of Feb
1921 recognized the new Bolshevik government - and vice versa - while the latter abrogated the highly
unpopular Angli-Persian agreement of 1919. Reza Khans priority was to crush the political revolts and army
mutinies. Primarily it was the socialist Gilan,SSR!, under Mirza Kuchek Khan and supported by Soviet
Russia and the opposition in the country. Discussions to make Persia a republic like Turkey took also place.
Although Soviet Russia had initially supported the Jangali/ SSRI (Gilan) Socialist Republic. Soviet now
switched policy to support the new government of Iran instead! Consequently the SSRI was easily crushed
like all other revolts that took place in Iran well into the 1930s. The most important was a major revolt for
"independence" in the oil-rich Khuzestan in the southwest in 1924. Its ruler Sheikh Rhazal of Muhammerah
was supported by the Bakhtiari tribe and the A.P.O.C. oil company, i e indirectly by the British Government.
Ppc depicting the two main personalities behind the Coup, the new prime m inister Seyed Zia ed-Din and the
new War Minister Reza Khan
Colonel Lundberg, Chief of the Gendarm·erie is no five from left

Agba seyed zfaeddine Minister und Reza Khan Pahlavi Kriegso:iinister
Ara ceile11 snae;i;UH, llhlilaIOllluHCJI M11u11crp, 11 Pesa X&11 Ilax.11an11, x0Mau11y1011111il BO Bpe!WI noiim.1.
Coup d'Etat! Illegal overprinted issued
Waybill from Teberan 28 V I 921 ro Ko11 m a rri.ving 12 V I l 9 2 J

q nl f. iim~
-~1
4•i'l't1.\l u\I \."-\'.) "-~

To commemorate the Coup a very small number of the 1915 "Coronation" issue was overprinted 21 FEV 1921 without the consent of the
Belgian Postal Director Mr Molitor who was out of the country. Upon his return he declared the issue illegal first. Only after srrong political
pressure did he finally accept it. Due to this p rolonged process The issue started circulate only in May and seen used into June 1921. Only 50
~ach ofthe higher values were overprinted. Truly commercial items are very limited in comparison to philatelic ones with.funny rates.
1)20