On January 9, 1978, the Shah's troops in the city of Qom shot down a political demonstration of students of religious educational institutions.
These actions of the authorities provoked massive popular uprisings and served as a prologue to the Islamic Revolution, which completely changed Iran.
"White Revolution"
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi came to power in Iran in 1941.
Before that, his father abdicated against the backdrop of the entry of Soviet and British troops into the country.
In the early years of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi's rule, he had to maneuver between the left movement, right-wing conservative groups and separatist local elites in the regions.
At the same time, the monarch himself pursued a course of rapprochement with the United States in foreign policy.
In the late 1940s, the idea of nationalizing the British oil fields became popular in Iran.
This, in particular, was advocated by the National Front, which was headed by Mohammed Mossadegh.
In 1951, the law on the seizure of oil fields from the British was supported by parliament, and Mossadegh headed the Iranian government.
Relations between the new prime minister and the West were tense.
According to historians, British intelligence agencies tried to arrange the resignation of the Iranian cabinet.
According to experts, in July 1952, a dispute arose between the Shah and the prime minister over personnel authority, against which Mosaddegh had to resign.
However, mass protests of democratic forces and supporters of the Muslim clergy began in Iran.
Mossadegh returned to the post of prime minister and soon severed relations with Britain.
Having lost real powers, the shah fled abroad.
In August 1953, Western intelligence agencies, together with the military supporting Shah Pahlavi, staged a coup d'etat in Iran.
Mossadegh's government was overthrown, and the Shah returned to power, having received the broadest powers.
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi continued the policy of strengthening the central government and adhered to the pro-American foreign policy.
He provided American business with preferences in the field of oil production in Iran, expanded military-political cooperation with the West, and invited US military advisers to command the armed forces.
At the initiative of the Shah, there was a departure from Muslim traditions, there was a westernization of all spheres of public life.
In 1962, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi launched the reforms known as the "White Revolution".
These included reforms in the land sector, privatization of the public sector, changes in electoral laws, and expansion of the education system.
According to historians, these reforms were implemented in such a way that they sharply increased the socio-economic stratification in society.
Despite the formal growth of the economy, the standard of living of millions of Iranians was rapidly falling.
To replenish the treasury, the Shah's government turned to foreign countries for loans.
According to historians, ordinary Iranians associated negative socio-economic phenomena with the pro-Western policy of the Shah.
“The Shah has achieved some success in the development of education and healthcare.
Large industrial enterprises were built in the country.
But at the same time, social stratification has sharply increased in Iran.
The results of the reforms were primarily used by the top, and the share of the poorest population in society was growing rapidly, ”said in a conversation with RT an associate professor at Moscow State University.
M.V.
Lomonosov Vladislav Zaitsev.
According to him, the elimination of feudal landownership occupied a central place in the Shah's reforms.
However, the feudal lords were replaced by large private agricultural holdings, and the position of the peasantry only worsened.
The least well-off part of the inhabitants of rural areas, in search of a better life, began to move to cities, forming “poverty belts” in them.
Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
AP
“In the course of the Shah's reforms, a mistake was made that is typical for many states that sought to reach out to the West: they thought that the market would decide everything.
Who survives is good, and who does not survive is not important.
The reforms were carried out in the interests of the bourgeoisie, skilled workers and large farmers, and everyone else was left out.
The peasants were driven from the land on which their ancestors had lived for centuries, ”said Sergei Druzhilovsky, professor at MGIMO, in an interview with RT.
In the political sphere, Pahlavi severely suppressed any opposition activity.
Democratic freedoms were curtailed and opposition political parties banned.
In addition, the Shah tried to limit the rights of the Muslim clergy and their influence on Iranian society.
One of the most active opponents of the reforms carried out by the shah was the influential theologian Ruhollah Khomeini.
In 1963, he called on the people to oppose the reforms and was forcibly expelled from the country soon after.
According to historians, instead of solving specific problems of the population, the shah was engaged in the fight against the opposition, and the socio-economic crisis, meanwhile, became more and more acute.
In the mid-1970s, the Shah's reforms finally came to a standstill.
In Iran, there was a deficit in the balance of payments, inflation rose, and unemployment continued to grow.
“A multi-million mass of restless people has accumulated in the country, to whom no one has even promised anything.
They were simply given to understand that they "did not fit into the market."
Their exit to the streets was a matter of time,” Sergei Druzhilovsky emphasized.
"On the principles of social justice"
On January 9, as a result of the execution of a demonstration in Qom, according to unofficial data, about 60 people were killed.
According to historians, this caused strong indignation in Iranian society, and the protests became even more active.
Small merchants, workers, employees, and students took to the streets en masse.
Religious leaders led the protests.
According to experts, the Shah authorities tried to calm the protesters by making formal concessions, such as closing gambling houses and switching the calendar to the Muslim calendar, but this did not remove the main social contradictions, so the protests continued.
In early September, the whole country was engulfed in anti-government demonstrations.
In Tehran alone, about 1 million people participated in them.
The authorities introduced martial law in 12 cities, but this did not bring any results.
Strikes broke out at oil and transport enterprises, banks, post offices and even government offices.
Khomeini called on the people from abroad to fight against the pro-Western government.
The authorities were forced to make more serious concessions to the protesters: they allowed the registration of new parties, began to release political prisoners, and agreed to raise the salaries of workers and employees in the public sector.
Part of the opposition began to lean towards a compromise with the Shah, but Khomeini was categorically against any agreements with the authorities.
At the end of 1978, Shapur Bakhtiar, one of the leaders of the moderate opposition, agreed to the Shah's proposal to become prime minister.
Pahlavi himself in January 1979 went abroad "for treatment", transferring power to the regency council.
However, these measures failed to relieve the tension in the society.
“The liquidation of the monarchy was an objective process.
The old system was no longer subject to reform.
The overthrow of the shah itself turned out to be bloodless, but it did not remove all the contradictions, and the main bloody events were still ahead, ”said Gafurov, an orientalist, in a conversation with RT.
Protests in Qom
AP
© Michel Lipchitz
Khomeini declared the new government illegal and called for the continuation of the revolution.
Islamic committees began to appear all over the country, not only coordinating popular demonstrations, but actually turning into local self-government bodies.
In Tehran, Khomeini's supporters created the Revolutionary Islamic Council, which included authoritative secular and religious figures.
The Council has become an alternative center of power to the government.
Millions of people took part in the protests.
Bakhtiyar's cabinet was rapidly losing influence on what was happening.
On February 1, 1979, Khomeini returned to Tehran.
The population of the Iranian capital greeted him with rejoicing.
Soon, the Revolutionary Islamic Council announced the creation of a temporary revolutionary government, which was headed by opposition politician Mehdi Bazargan.
However, Bakhtiyar's supporters could not be persuaded to peacefully transfer power to the revolutionaries.
Ruhollah Khomeini during his return to Iran in 1979
AP
© Campion
On February 9, the Guards attacked an Air Force training center whose personnel were taking part in demonstrations.
This provoked the beginning of an armed uprising in Iran.
Two days later, the Supreme Military Council announced the neutrality of the army, and soon after that went over to the side of the rebels.
Khomeini announced the victory of the Islamic Revolution and began to reform the state, based on the principles of the supremacy of power of an authoritative Muslim jurist.
In a referendum held at the end of March, more than 98% of the population supported the transformation of Iran into an Islamic republic.
Anti-Shah demonstrations in Iran in December 1978
AP
“Khomeini came to the conclusion that the division of power into three branches (legislative, executive and judicial) is not enough and that a fourth deterrent is needed to maintain the balance of power in society, which has become a spiritual leadership,” said Said Gafurov.
In November 1979, the Bazargan government was dismissed and all power passed into the hands of the Revolutionary Islamic Council.
A month later, a new constitution was adopted.
The head of state officially became the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, under which the Supreme National Security Council was created.
The organs of secular legislative and executive power were placed in direct subordination to the religious leadership.
Protests in Iran during the Islamic Revolution
AP
© Derek Ive
“Khomeini promoted the idea that the state should be built on the principles of social justice.
At the same time, he did not want to rely on either the West or the socialist camp and chose a third path for Iran.
This showed other countries that you can build your own future without adhering to any blocs,” summed up Sergey Druzhilovsky.