title: Iranian Revolution

text: In November, secular National Front leader Karim Sanjabi flew to Paris to meet Khomeini. There the two signed an agreement for a draft constitution that would be "Islamic and democratic". It signaled the now official alliance between the clergy and the secular opposition. In order to help create a democratic façade, Khomeini placed Westernized figures (such as Sadegh Ghotbzadeh and Ebrahim Yazdi) as the public spokesmen of the opposition, and never spoke to the media of his intentions to create a theocracy.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Street demonstrations continued at full force with little response from the military; by late October, government officials effectively even ceded the University of Tehran to student protesters. Worse, the opposition was increasingly becoming armed with weapons, firing at soldiers and attacking banks and government buildings in an attempt to destabilize the country.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 5 November, demonstrations at University of Tehran became deadly after a fight broke out with armed soldiers. Within hours, Tehran broke out into a full-scale riot. Block after block of Western symbols such as movie theaters and department stores, as well as government and police buildings, were seized, looted, and burned. The British embassy in Tehran was partially burned and vandalized as well, and the American embassy nearly suffered the same fate. The event became known to foreign observers as "The Day Tehran Burned."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Many of the rioters were young teenage boys, often organized by the mosques in southern Tehran, and encouraged by their mullahs to attack and destroy western and secular symbols. The army and police, confused about their orders and under pressure from the Shah not to risk initiating violence, effectively gave up and did not intervene.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: As the situation on the streets spiraled out of control, many well known and reputable figures within the country began to approach the Shah, begging him to stop the chaos.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 6 November, the Shah dismissed Sharif-Emami from the post of prime minister, and chose to appoint a military government in its place. The Shah chose General Gholam-Reza Azhari to be prime minister because of his mild-mannered approach to the situation. The cabinet he would choose was a military cabinet in name only and consisted primarily of civilian leaders.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The same day, the Shah made a speech on Iranian television. He referred to himself as "Padeshah" ('Master King'), instead of the more grandiose Shahanshah (king of kings), which he insisted on being called previously. In his speech he stated "I have heard the voice of your revolution...this revolution cannot but be supported by me, the king of Iran". He apologized for mistakes that were committed during his reign, and promised to ensure that corruption would no longer exist. He stated he would begin to work with the opposition to bring democracy, and would form a coalition government. In effect, the Shah intended to restrain the military government (which he described as a temporary caretaker government) from carrying out a full crackdown.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The speech backfired when the revolutionaries sensed weakness from the Shah and "smelled blood". Khomeini announced that there would be no reconciliation with the Shah and called on all Iranians to overthrow him.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Military authorities declared martial law in Khuzestan province (Iran's main oil producing province) and deployed troops to its oil facilities. Navy personnel were also used as strikebreakers in the oil industry. Street marches declined and oil production began increasing once again, nearly reaching pre-revolutionary levels. In a symbolic blow to the opposition, Karim Sanjabi, who had visited Khomeini in Paris, was arrested upon his return to Iran.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: However, the government still continued the policy of appeasement and negotiation. The Shah ordered the arrest of 100 officials from his own government for charges of corruption, including former prime minister Amir Abbas-Hoveyda and former SAVAK head Nematollah Nassiri.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Khomeini condemned the military government and called for continued protests. He and the protest organizers planned a series of escalating protests during the holy Islamic month of Muharram, to culminate with massive protests on the days of Tasu'a and Ashura, the latter commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the third Shia Muslim imam.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: While the military authorities banned street demonstrations and extended the curfew, the Shah faced deep misgivings about the potential violence.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 2 December 1978, the Muharram protests began. Named for the Islamic month they began in, the Muharram protests were impressively huge and pivotal. Over two million protesters (many of whom were teenagers proselytized by the mullahs from the mosques of southern Tehran) took to the streets, crowding Shahyad Square. Protesters frequently went out at night, defying the set curfew, often taking to rooftops and shouting ""Allahu-akbar"" ('God is great'). According to one witness, many of the clashes on the street had an air of playfulness rather than seriousness, with security forces using "kid gloves" against the opposition. Nevertheless, the government reported at least 12 opposition deaths.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The protesters demanded that Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi step down from power and that Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini be returned from exile. The protests grew incredibly fast, reaching between six million and nine million in strength in the first week. About 5% of the population had taken to the streets in the Muharram protests. Both beginning and ending in the month of Muharram, the protests succeeded, and the Shah stepped down from power later that month.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: After the success of what would become known as a revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran as its religious and political leader for life. Khomeini had been an opposition leader to Shah for many years, rising to prominence after the death of his mentor, renowned scholar Yazdi Ha'iri, in the 1930s. Even in his years in exile, Khomeini remained relevant in Iran. Supporting the protests from beyond Iran's borders, he proclaimed that "freedom and liberation from the bonds of imperialism" was imminent.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: As the days of Tasu'a and Ashura (10 and 11 December) approached, in order to prevent a deadly showdown the Shah began to draw back. In negotiations with Ayatollah Shariatmadari, the Shah ordered the release of 120 political prisoners and Karim Sanjabi, and on 8 December revoked the ban on street demonstrations. Permits were issued for the marchers, and troops were removed from the procession's path. In turn, Shariatmadari pledged that to make sure that there would be no violence during the demonstrations.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 10 and 11 December 1978, the days of Tasu'a and Ashura, between 6 and 9 million anti-Shah demonstrators marched throughout Iran. According to one historian, "even discounting for exaggeration, these figures may represent the largest protest event in history." The marches were led by Ayatollah Taleghani and National Front leader Karim Sanjabi, thus symbolizing the "unity" of the secular and religious opposition. The mullahs and bazaaris effectively policed the gathering, and protesters who attempted to initiate violence were restrained.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: More than 10% of the country marched in anti-Shah demonstrations on the two days, possibly a higher percentage than any previous revolution. It is rare for a revolution to involve as much as 1 percent of a country's population; the French, Russian, and Romanian revolutions may have passed the 1 percent mark.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Much of Iranian society was in euphoria about the coming revolution. Secular and leftist politicians piled onto the movement hoping to gain power in the aftermath, ignoring the fact that Khomeini was the very antithesis to all of the positions they supported. While it was increasingly clear to more secular Iranians that Khomeini was not a liberal, he was widely perceived as a figurehead, and that power would eventually be handed to the secular groups.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The military leadership was increasingly paralyzed by indecision, and rank-and-file soldiers were demoralized, having been forced to confront demonstrators while prohibited from using their own weapons (and being condemned by the Shah if they did). Increasingly, Khomeini called on the soldiers of the armed forces to defect to the opposition. Revolutionaries gave flowers and civilian clothes to deserters, while threatening retribution to those who stayed.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 11 December, a dozen officers were shot dead by their own troops at Tehran's Lavizan barracks. Fearing further mutinies, many soldiers were returned to their barracks. Mashhad (the second largest city in Iran) was abandoned to the protesters, and in many provincial towns demonstrators were effectively in control.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Carter administration increasingly became locked in a debate about continued support for the monarchy. As early as November, ambassador William Sullivan sent a telegram to Carter (the "Thinking the Unthinkable" telegram). The telegram effectively declared his belief that the Shah would not survive the protests and that the US should consider withdrawing its support for his government and persuading the monarch to abdicate. The United States would then help assemble a coalition of pro-Western military officers, middle class professionals, and moderate clergy, with Khomeini installed as a Gandhi-like spiritual leader.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The telegram touched off a vigorous debate in the American cabinet, with some, such as National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, rejecting it outright. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance rejected a military crackdown; he and his supporters believed in the "moderate and progressive" intentions of Khomeini and his circle.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Increasing contact was established with the pro-Khomeini camp. Based on the revolutionaries' responses, some American officials (especially Ambassador Sullivan) felt that Khomeini was genuinely intent on creating a democracy. According to historian Abbas Milani, this resulted in the United States effectively helping to facilitate Khomeini's rise to power.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Shah began to search for a new prime minister, one who was a civilian and a member of the opposition. On 28 December, he secured an agreement with another major National Front figure, Shahpour Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar would be appointed prime minister (a return to civilian rule), while the Shah and his family would leave the country. His royal duties would be carried out by a Regency Council, and three months after his departure a referendum would be submitted to the people deciding on whether Iran would remain a monarchy or become a republic. A former opponent of the Shah, Bakhtiar became motivated to join the government because he was increasingly aware of Khomeini's intentions to implement hard-line religious rule rather than a democracy. Karim Sanjabi immediately expelled Bakhtiar from the National Front, and Bakhtiar was denounced by Khomeini (who declared that acceptance of his government was the equivalent of "obedience to false gods").


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Shah, hoping to see Bakhtiar established, kept delaying his departure. Consequently, to the Iranian public, Bakhtiar was seen as the Shah's last prime minister, undermining his support.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: American General Robert Huyser, the Deputy Commander of NATO, entered Iran. While the option of a pro-Shah military coup still was a possibility, Huyser met with military leaders (but not the Shah) and established meetings between them and Khomeini allies for the purpose of agreeing on Bakhtiar's transitional government. Ambassador Sullivan disagreed, and attempted to pressure Huyser to ignore the military and work directly with Khomeini's opposition. Nevertheless, Huyser won out and continued to work with both the military and opposition. He left Iran on 3 February. The Shah was privately embittered by Huyser's mission, and felt that the United States no longer wanted him in power.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On the morning of 16 January 1979, Bakhtiar was officially appointed prime minister. The same day, a tearful Shah and his family left Iran for exile in Egypt, never to return.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: When news of the Shah's departure was announced, there were spontaneous scenes of joy throughout the country. Millions poured onto the streets, and virtually every remaining sign of the monarchy was torn down by the crowds. Bakhtiar dissolved SAVAK and freed all remaining political prisoners. He ordered the army to allow mass demonstrations, promised free elections and invited the revolutionaries into a government of "national unity".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Bakhtiar invited Khomeini back to Iran, with the intention of creating a Vatican-like state in the holy city of Qom, declaring that "We will soon have the honor of welcoming home the Ayatollah Khomeini". On 1 February 1979 Khomeini returned to Tehran in a chartered Air France Boeing 747. The welcoming crowd of several million Iranians was so large he was forced to take a helicopter after the car taking him from the airport was overwhelmed by an enthusiastic welcoming crowd.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Khomeini was now not only the undisputed leader of the revolution, he had become what some called a "semi-divine" figure, greeted as he descended from his airplane with cries of 'Khomeini, O Imam, we salute you, peace be upon you.' Crowds were now known to chant "Islam, Islam, Khomeini, We Will Follow You," and even "Khomeini for King." When asked by a reporter how he felt returning to his home country after a long exile, Khomeini replied "Nothing".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On the day of his arrival Khomeini made clear his rejection of Bakhtiar's government in a speech promising, "I shall kick their teeth in. I appoint the government, I appoint the government in support of this nation". On 5 February at his headquarters in the Refah School in southern Tehran, he declared a provisional revolutionary government, appointed opposition leader Mehdi Bazargan (from the religious-nationalist Freedom Movement, affiliated with the National Front) as his own prime minister, and commanded Iranians to obey Bazargan as a religious duty.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Angered, Bakhtiar made a speech of his own. Reaffirming himself as the legitimate leader, he declared that:


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Tensions between the two rival governments increased rapidly. To demonstrate his support, Khomeini called for demonstrators to occupy the streets throughout the country. He also sent a letter to American officials warning them to withdraw support for Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar became increasingly isolated, with members of the government (including the entire Regency Council) defecting to Khomeini. The military was crumbling, with its leadership completely paralyzed, unsure of whether to support Bakhtiar or act on their own, and rank-and-file soldiers either demoralized or deserting.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 9 February, a rebellion of pro-Khomeini air force technicians broke out at the Doshan Tappeh Air Base. A unit of the pro-Shah Immortal Guards attempted to apprehend the rebels, and an armed battle broke out. Soon large crowds took to the streets, building barricades and supporting the rebels, while Islamic-Marxist guerillas with their weapons joined in support.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The armed rebels attacked a weapons factory, capturing nearly 50,000 machine guns and distributing them to civilians who joined in the fighting. The rebels began storming police stations and military bases throughout Tehran. The city's martial law commander General Mehdi Rahimi decided not to use his 30,000 loyal Immortal Guards to crush the rebellion for fear of producing civilian casualties.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The final collapse of the provisional non-Islamist government came at 2 pm on 11 February when the Supreme Military Council declared itself "neutral in the current political disputes... in order to prevent further disorder and bloodshed." All military personnel were ordered back to their bases, effectively yielding control of the entire country to Khomeini. Revolutionaries took over government buildings, TV and radio stations, and palaces of the Pahlavi dynasty, marking the end of the monarchy in Iran. Bakhtiar escaped the palace under a hail of bullets, fleeing Iran in disguise. He was later assassinated by an agent of the Islamic Republic in 1991 in Paris.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: This period, from 1 to 11 February, is celebrated every year in Iran as the "Decade of Fajr." 11 February is "Islamic Revolution's Victory Day", a national holiday with state sponsored demonstrations in every city.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Some sources (such as Emadeddin Baghi, a researcher at the Martyrs Foundation) claim 2,781 protesters and revolutionaries were killed in 1978–79 during the Revolution. Khomeini reported of a much larger number; he said that "60,000 men, women and children were martyred by the Shah's regime." In reference to this 60,000 figure, the military historian Spencer C. Tucker notes that "Khomeini's regime grossly overstated the revolution's death toll for propaganda purposes". Tucker explains that the consensus of historians regarding estimated deaths during the Iranian Revolution (from January 1978 to February 1979), numbers between 532 and 2,781. According to the historian Ervand Abrahamian, the number executed by revolutionary courts as the revolution was consolidated (8,000 opponents between June 1981 and June 1985) exceeded those killed by the royalist government trying to stop the revolution. According to Tucker's estimations, in the period of 1980 to 1985, between 25,000 and 40,000 Iranians were arrested, 15,000 Iranians were tried and 8,000 to 9,500 Iranians were executed.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The songs most closely associated with the revolution are epic ballads, composed during and in support of the Islamic Revolution and in opposition to the Pahlavi dynasty. Before the revolution was consolidated, these chants were made by various political supporters, and were often recorded on cassette tapes in underground and home studios. In schools, these songs were sung by students as part of the celebrations of Fajr Decades. "Iran Iran" or "Allah Allah" chants are famous revolutionary songs.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Iranian Revolution was a gendered revolution; much of the new regime's rhetoric was centered on the position of women in Iranian society. Beyond rhetoric, thousands of women were also heavily mobilized in the revolution itself, and different groups of women actively participated alongside their male counterparts. Not only participating through voting, women contributed to the revolution through marches, demonstrations and chanting slogans. Women were involved in caring for the wounded, including doctors who responded to calls for help and opened their homes for those who needed assistance. While women themselves were often killed, tortured, arrested or injured and some were involved in guerilla activities, most contributed in non-violent ways. Many women were instrumental not only in being involved in the revolution themselves but in mobilizing men and other non-political women. Many women protested while carrying children and their presence was one of the main reasons for disarming soldiers (who were there on behalf of the regime) who were ordered to shoot if necessary.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Ayatollah Khomeini asserted that "You ladies here have proved that you are at the forefront of this movement. You have a great share in our Islamic movement. The future of our country depends on your support." He invoked the image of the hijab as a symbol of the revolution, saying that, "a nation whose respected women demonstrate in modest garb ["hejab"] to express their disgust with the Shah's regime- such a nation will be victorious." He also said that, "women from all levels of society took part in the recent demonstrations, which we are calling the 'referendum of the streets'... women fought side by side with men in the struggle for their independence and their liberty." Khomeini pleaded for women to participate in anti-Shah demonstrations in various cities. Furthermore, women later responded to Khomeini's urgings to vote in favor of the Islamic Republic and the new constitution. Women were so pivotal to the revolution that in response to a suggestion from a top aid to ban women from coming to group audience, Khomeini said "I threw the Shah out with these women, there's no problem in their coming."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: After the revolution, Khomeini credited much of the success of the movement to women, even commending the women for mobilizing men, "you ladies have proved that you are in the vanguard of the movement, you have proved that you lead the men, men get their inspiration from you, the men of Iran have learnt lessons from the honourable ladies of Iran ...You are in the vanguard of the movement."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: It has been argued that Khomeini and his fellow leaders danced around the issue of women's rights and rather focused their rhetoric on mobilizing women through encouraging them to participate in protests and fueling their anti-Shah sentiments.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The contributions of women to the revolutions and the intentions behind these contributions are complex and layered. The motivations of women for being part of the revolutions were complex and varied among a plethora of religious, political and economic reasons and women participating were from various classes and backgrounds. Many Western educated upper-middle-class women from secular, urban and professional families were involved as well as many women from working-class and rural backgrounds. There were groups as varied as the Fida'iyan-i Khalq, and the Mujahedin were functioning as guerrilla units during the revolutions in opposition to the Shah's regime. There were also other groups of women with various agendas that sometimes converged and sometimes diverged from the Islamic Republic's political positions. For example, organized feminism which was around since the Pahlavi dynasty, joined the revolutionary movement after the Shah dropped the cabinet position on Women's Affairs to appease the Islamists. Members of the Women's Organization of Iran marched in support for the revolution and it was important that women very much linked to the government also turned against the Shah's regime. Yet, there was some tension later between feminists' dress and the revolution's stance on women's clothing and they began to feel uncomfortable at opposition events.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Some argue that this politicization and mobilization of women made it difficult for the new regime to push them out of the public and political spheres. The revolution resulted in an unprecedented opening for Iranian women into politics (mostly through demonstrations and voting), and some authors argue that this had a lasting impact on Iranian women's political participation and role in the public sphere. Some women were also part of the inner circle of the leaders of the new regime such as Marzieh Hadidchi. Other than the politicization of women, there were particular circumstances during the revolution which pushed women into being involved with politics. For example, "the combination of martial law with its curfew hours and the closing down of shops and workplaces, together with the cold of the fall and winter months resulted in the centers of political discussion often being within the home." Women engaged with news and media as well as political discussions alongside their male counterparts as "the revolution was the only topic of interest to anyone, regardless of age or sex." During 1978 and 1979 there were many gatherings in women's homes where they exchanged interpersonal news and anecdotes. These personal accounts were valuable in a time where the official coverage of news was not trusted by many people.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Women who were activists, religious women and women dissatisfied with the regime were able to unite under the anti-Shah umbrella. However it's important to note that "women were not united in their opinions of the revolution and its outcome as much as they were not united in their reasons for joining the revolution". Despite this mobilization and high participation rate of women, they were still kept out of leadership positions which were exclusive to men; women are thought to be part of the rank and file rather than the elite strata of the revolution.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: While there has been some academic literature exploring individual narratives of women on the revolution, most of the academic work produced focuses on the effect of the revolution on women rather than the role of Iranian women during the revolution. Scholar Guity Nashat highlights this neglected aspect of the revolution, "Although women's participation in the events leading to the 11 February revolution was instrumental in its success, most studies have not addressed the reasons for their involvement or their contribution." Janet Baur argues the necessity of examining the daily lives of women, their living conditions and their relationship to other groups in order to understand their participation in the socio-political events of the revolution. She further explains that the cultural, ideological, social and material factors shaping the social life and class differences in the period just prior to the revolution need to be studied in order to understand how the Iranian women's social consciousness developed and how it led them to take part in public protests. Caroline M. Brooks argues that women were left to express their concerns through the protest rather than in the Majlis. Thus, this created a "dangerous bargaining position for activist women" since rather than arguing their position through intellect they were only able to "argue by numbers in the streets and be repelled by force".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: There are some contesting understandings in academic literature regarding the reasons behind the mobilization of women. While some argue that the micro-level actions of women can be understood through religious and political ideologies, others argue that it is in fact the effect of manipulations of information, symbols and context which should be studied.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: From early 1979 to either 1982 or 1983 Iran was in a "revolutionary crisis mode." After the system of despotic monarchy had been overthrown, the economy and the apparatus of government had collapsed, and military and security forces were in disarray. Yet, by 1982 Khomeini and his supporters had crushed the rival factions, defeated local rebellions and consolidated power.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: At the same time, events that made up both the crisis and its resolution were the Iran hostage crisis, the invasion of Iran by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and the presidency of Abolhassan Banisadr.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Some observers believe "what began as an authentic and anti-dictatorial popular revolution based on a broad coalition of all anti-Shah forces was soon transformed into an Islamic fundamentalist power-grab," that except for his core supporters, the members of the coalition thought Khomeini intended to be more of a spiritual guide than a ruler. Khomeini was in his mid-70s, never held public office, been out of Iran for more than a decade, and told questioners "the religious dignitaries do not want to rule." However, nobody could deny the unanimous central role of the Imam, and the other factions were too small to have any real impact.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Another view is Khomeini had "overwhelming ideological, political and organizational hegemony," and non-theocratic groups never seriously challenged Khomeini's movement in popular support. Supporters of the new rule themselves have claimed that Iranians who opposed Khomeini were "fifth columnists" led by foreign countries attempting to overthrow the Iranian government.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Khomeini and his loyalists in the revolutionary organizations implemented Khomeini's design for an Islamic republic led by himself as Supreme Leader by exploiting temporary allies such as Mehdi Bazargan's Provisional Government of Iran, whom they later eliminated from Iran's political stage one by one.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The most important bodies of the revolution were the Revolutionary Council, the Revolutionary Guards, Revolutionary Tribunals, Islamic Republican Party, and Revolutionary Committees ("komitehs").


title: Iranian Revolution

text: While the moderate Bazargan and his government (temporarily) reassured the middle class, it became apparent they did not have power over the "Khomeinist" revolutionary bodies, particularly the Revolutionary Council (the "real power" in the revolutionary state), and later the Islamic Republican Party. Inevitably, the overlapping authority of the Revolutionary Council (which had the power to pass laws) and Bazargan's government was a source of conflict, despite the fact that both had been approved by and/or put in place by Khomeini.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: This conflict lasted only a few months however. The provisional government fell shortly after American Embassy officials were taken hostage on 4 November 1979. Bazargan's resignation was received by Khomeini without complaint, saying "Mr. Bazargan ... was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Revolutionary Guard, or "Pasdaran-e Enqelab", was established by Khomeini on 5 May 1979, as a counterweight both to the armed groups of the left, and to the Shah's military. The guard eventually grew into "a full-scale" military force, becoming "the strongest institution of the revolution."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Serving under the Pasdaran were/are the "Baseej-e Mostaz'afin", ("Oppressed Mobilization") volunteers in everything from earthquake emergency management to attacking opposition demonstrators and newspaper offices. The Islamic Republican Party then fought to establish a theocratic government by "velayat-e faqih".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Thousands of "komiteh" or Revolutionary Committees served as "the eyes and ears" of the new rule and are credited by critics with "many arbitrary arrests, executions and confiscations of property".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Also enforcing the will of the government were the Hezbollahi (the Party of God), "strong-arm thugs" who attacked demonstrators and offices of newspapers critical of Khomeini.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Two major political groups that formed after the fall of the Shah that clashed with and were eventually suppressed by pro-Khomeini groups, were the moderate religious Muslim People's Republican Party (MPRP) which was associated with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, and the secular leftist National Democratic Front (NDF).


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Following the events of the revolution, Marxist guerrillas and federalist parties revolted in some regions comprising Khuzistan, Kurdistan and Gonbad-e Qabus, which resulted in fighting between them and revolutionary forces. These revolts began in April 1979 and lasted between several months to over a year, depending on the region.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 30 and 31 March (Farvardin 10, 11) a referendum was held over whether to replace the monarchy with an "Islamic republic". Khomeini called for a massive turnout and only the National Democratic Front, Fadayan, and several Kurdish parties opposed the vote. The results showed that 98.2% had voted in favor of the Islamic Republic.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In June 1979 the Freedom Movement released its draft constitution for the Islamic Republic that it had been working on since Khomeini was in exile. It included a Guardian Council to veto un-Islamic legislation, but had no guardian jurist ruler. Leftists found the draft too conservative and in need of major changes but Khomeini declared it 'correct'. To approve the new constitution and prevent leftist alterations, a relatively small seventy-three-member Assembly of Experts for Constitution was elected that summer. Critics complained that "vote-rigging, violence against undesirable candidates and the dissemination of false information" was used to "produce an assembly overwhelmingly dominated by clergy, all took active roles during the revolution and loyal to Khomeini."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Khomeini (and the assembly) now rejected the constitution – its correctness notwithstanding – and Khomeini declared that the new government should be based "100% on Islam."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In addition to the president, the new constitution included a more powerful post of guardian jurist ruler intended for Khomeini, with control of the military and security services, and power to appoint several top government and judicial officials. It increased the power and number of clerics on the Council of Guardians and gave it control over elections as well as laws passed by the legislature.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The new constitution was also approved overwhelmingly by the December 1979 constitutional referendum, but with more opposition and smaller turnout.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In late October 1979, the exiled and dying Shah was admitted into the United States for cancer treatment. In Iran there was an immediate outcry, and both Khomeini and leftist groups demanded the Shah's return to Iran for trial and execution. On 4 November 1979 youthful Islamists, calling themselves Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, invaded the US embassy compound in Tehran and seized its staff. Revolutionaries were angry because of how the Shah had left Iran which spawned rumors of another U.S.–backed coup in Iran that would re-install him. The occupation was also intended as leverage to demand the return of the Shah to stand trial in exchange for the hostages, and depose Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan, who they believed was plotting to normalize relations with the U.S. The students held 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days, which played a role in helping to pass the constitution, suppressing moderates, and otherwise radicalising the revolution.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Holding the hostages was very popular and continued even after the death of the Shah. As Khomeini explained to his future President Banisadr, "This action has many benefits. ... This has united our people. Our opponents do not dare act against us. We can put the constitution to the people's vote without difficulty ..."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: With great publicity the students released documents from the American embassy, which they labeled a "den of spies", showing that moderate Iranian leaders had met with U.S. officials (and didn't release similar evidence of high-ranking Islamists having done the same). Among the casualties of the hostage crisis was Prime Minister Bazargan and his government, who resigned in November unable to enforce the government's order to release the hostages.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The prestige of Khomeini and the hostage taking was further enhanced with the failure of a hostage rescue attempt, widely credited to divine intervention.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The hostage crisis ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on 19 January 1981. The hostages were formally released to United States custody the following day, just minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the new American president.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In early March 1979, Khomeini announced, "do not use this term, 'democratic.' That is the Western style," giving pro-democracy liberals (and later leftists) a taste of disappointments to come. In succession the National Democratic Front was banned in August 1979, the provisional government was disempowered in November, the Muslim People's Republican Party was banned in January 1980, the People's Mujahedin of Iran guerrillas came under attack in February 1980, a purge of universities started in March 1980, and the liberal Islamist President Abolhassan Banisadr was impeached in June 1981.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: After the revolution, human rights groups estimated the number of casualties suffered by protesters and prisoners of the new system to be several thousand. The first to be executed were members of the old system – senior generals, followed by over 200 senior civilian officials – as punishment and to eliminate the danger of a coup d'état. Brief trials lacking defense attorneys, juries, transparency or the opportunity for the accused to defend themselves were held by revolutionary judges such as Sadegh Khalkhali, the "Sharia" judge. By January 1980 "at least 582 persons had been executed." Among those executed was Amir Abbas Hoveida, former Prime Minister of Iran. Between January 1980 and June 1981, when Bani-Sadr was impeached, at least 900 executions took place, for everything from drug and sexual offenses to "corruption on earth", from plotting counter-revolution and spying for Israel to membership in opposition groups.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Between June 1981 and March 1982, the theocratic regime carried out the largest political massacre in Iranian history, targeting communists, socialists, social democrats, liberals, monarchists, moderate Islamists, and members of the Baha'i faith as part of the Iranian Cultural Revolution decreed by Khomeini on 14 June 1980 with the intent of "purifying" Iranian society of non-Islamic elements. Between June 1981 and June 1982, Amnesty International documented 2,946 executions, with several thousand more killed in the next two years according to the anti-government guerilla People's Mujahedin of Iran. More recently, Rastyad Collective has verified the identities of more than 3,400 political dissidents who were executed between June 1981 and March 1982. These dissidents were sentenced to death by the Islamic Revolutionary Courts during show trials in more than eighty-five cities across the country on charges of spreading "corruption on Earth" ("ifsad-fi-alarz"), "espionage", "terrorism", or "enmity against Allah" ("Moharebeh"). Most victims of the 1981 massacre were young activists aged eleven to twenty-four. These activists were either high school students or had recently graduated from universities in Iran and abroad. During the massacre, hundreds of minors were also subjected to arbitrary detention, torture, and summary executions on ideologically motivated charges of "ifsad-fi-alarz" and "moharebeh" by the revolutionary courts.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In mid-August 1979, shortly after the election of the constitution-writing assembly, several dozen newspapers and magazines opposing Khomeini's idea of theocratic rule by jurists were shut down. When protests were organized by the National Democratic Front (NDF), Khomeini angrily denounced them saying, "we thought we were dealing with human beings. It is evident we are not."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Hundreds were injured by "rocks, clubs, chains and iron bars" when Hezbollahi attacked the protesters, and shortly after, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the NDF's leader.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In December the moderate Islamic party Muslim People's Republican Party (MPRP) and its spiritual leader Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari had become a rallying point for Iranians who wanted democracy not theocracy. Riots broke out in Shariatmadari's Azeri home region with members of the MPRP and Shariatmadari's followers seizing the Tabriz television station and using it to "broadcast demands and grievances." The regime reacted quickly, sending Revolutionary Guards to retake the TV station, mediators to defuse complaints and activists to stage a massive pro-Khomeini counter-demonstration. The party was suppressed, and in 1982 Shariatmadari was "demoted" from the rank of Grand Ayatollah and many of his clerical followers were purged.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In January 1980, Abolhassan Banisadr was elected president of Iran. Though an adviser to Khomeini, he was a leftist who clashed with another ally of Khomeini, the theocratic Islamic Republic Party (IRP) – the controlling power in the new parliament.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: At the same time, erstwhile revolutionary allies of Khomeini – the Islamist modernist guerrilla group People's Mujahedin of Iran (or MEK) – were being suppressed by Khomeini's forces. Khomeini attacked the MEK, referring to them as "monafeqin "(hypocrites) and "kafer" (unbelievers). "Hezbollahi" people attacked meeting places, bookstores, and newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists, driving them underground. Universities were closed to purge them of opponents of theocratic rule as a part of the "Cultural Revolution", and 20,000 teachers and nearly 8,000 military officers deemed too westernized were dismissed.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: By mid-1981 matters came to a head. An attempt by Khomeini to forge a reconciliation between Banisadr and IRP leaders had failed, and now it was Banisadr who was the rallying point "for all doubters and dissidents" of the theocracy, including the MEK.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: When leaders of the National Front called for a demonstration in June 1981 in favor of Banisadr, Khomeini threatened its leaders with the death penalty for apostasy "if they did not repent". Leaders of the Freedom Movement of Iran were compelled to make and publicly broadcast apologies for supporting the Front's appeal. Those attending the rally were menaced by Hezbollahi and Revolutionary Guards and intimidated into silence.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On 28 June 1981, a bombing of the office of the IRP killed around 70 high-ranking officials, cabinet members and members of parliament, including Mohammad Beheshti, the secretary-general of the party and head of the Islamic Republic's judicial system. The government arrested thousands, and there were hundreds of executions against the MEK and its followers. Despite these and other assassinations the hoped-for mass uprising and armed struggle against the Khomeiniists was crushed.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In May 1979, the Furqan Group ("Guruh-i Furqan") assassinated an important lieutenant of Khomeini, Morteza Motahhari.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Internationally, the initial impact of the revolution was immense. In the non-Muslim world, it changed the image of Islam, generating much interest in Islam—both sympathetic and hostile—and even speculation that the revolution might change "the world balance of power more than any political event since Hitler's conquest of Europe."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Islamic Republic positioned itself as a revolutionary beacon under the slogan "neither East nor West, only Islamic Republic ("Na Sharq, Na Gharb, Faqat Jumhuri-e Islami," i.e. neither Soviet nor American / West European models), and called for the overthrow of capitalism, American influence, and social injustice in the Middle East and the rest of the world. Revolutionary leaders in Iran gave and sought support from non-Muslim activists such as the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, IRA in Ireland and anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, insofar as favoring leftist revolutionaries over Islamist, but ideologically different and strategically harmful causes, such as the neighboring Afghan Mujahideen. The revolution itself was supported by the Palestine Liberation Organization. In terms of future relevance, the conflicts that originated from the Iranian Revolution continued to define geo-politics for the last three decades, continuing to do so today.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Supporters of the revolution both within and outside of Iran began calling for the overthrow of monarchies in the region and for them to be replaced by Islamic republics. This alarmed many of Iran's neighbours, particularly Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia as well as Western nations dependent on Middle Eastern oil for their energy needs.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In September 1980, Iraq took advantage of the febrile situation and invaded Iran. At the centre of Iraq's objectives was the annexation of the East Bank of the Shaat Al-Arab waterway that makes up part of the border between the two nations and which had been the site of numerous border skirmishes between the two countries going back to the late 1960s. The president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, also wanted to annex the Iranian province of Khuzestan, substantially populated by Iranian Arabs. There was also concern that a Shia-centric revolution in Iran may stimulate a similar uprising in Iraq, where the country's Sunni minority ruled over the Shia majority.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Hussein was confident that with Iraq's armed forces being well-equipped with new technology and with high morale would enjoy a decisive strategic advantage against an Iranian military that had recently had much of its command officers purged following the Revolution. Iran was also struggling to find replacement parts for much of its US- and British-supplied equipment. Hussein believed that victory would therefore come swiftly.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: However Iran was "galvanized" by the invasion and the populace of Iran rallied behind their new government in an effort to repel the invaders. After some early successes, the Iraqi invasion stalled and was then repelled and by 1982, Iran had recaptured almost all of its territories. In June 1982, with Iraqi forces all but expelled from Iranian territory, the Iraqi government offered a ceasefire. This was rejected by Khomeini, who declared that the only condition for peace was that "the regime in Baghdad must fall and must be replaced by an Islamic republic".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The war would continue for another six years during which time countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states provided financial assistance to Iraq in an effort to prevent an Iranian victory, even though their relations with Iraq were often hostile - Kuwait itself was invaded by Iraq two years after the peace agreement between Iraq and Iran was signed.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Like the hostage crisis, the war served in part as an opportunity for the government to strengthen revolutionary ardour and revolutionary groups; the Revolutionary Guard and committees at the expense of its remaining allies-turned-opponents, such as the MEK. While enormously costly and destructive, the war "rejuvenate[d] the drive for national unity and Islamic revolution" and "inhibited fractious debate and dispute" in Iran.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The Islamic Republic of Iran experienced difficult relations with some Western countries, especially the United States and the Eastern Bloc nations led by the Soviet Union. Iran was under constant US unilateral sanctions, which were tightened under the presidency of Bill Clinton. Britain suspended all diplomatic relations with Iran and did not re-open their embassy in Tehran until 1988. Relations with the USSR became strained as well after the Soviet government condemned Khomeini's repression of certain minorities after the Revolution.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: For Israel, relations dates back to the Shah until relations were cut on 18 February 1979 when Iran adopted its anti-Zionist stance. The former embassy in Tehran was handed over to the PLO and allied itself with several anti-Israeli Islamist militant groups since.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: After the U.S. sanctions were tightened and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China became the main principal allies for Iran. Relations between the two countries became improved after Vladimir Putin took office in 2000 and increasingly warmer in recent years following an international backlash over the annexation of Crimea in 2014 which led to sanctions by the Western powers. Russia had sought Iran on expanding arms trade over the past three decades especially with the cooperation with the Assad government during the Syrian civil war. Iran also began its economic cooperation with China that includes “political, strategic and economic” components between the two nations.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In the Muslim world, particularly in its early years, the revolution inspired enormous enthusiasm and redoubled opposition to western imperialism, intervention and influence. Islamist insurgents rose in Saudi Arabia (1979), Egypt (1981), Syria (1982), and Lebanon (1983).


title: Iranian Revolution

text: In Pakistan, it has been noted that the "press was largely favorable towards the new government"; the Islamist parties were even more enthusiastic; while the ruler, General Zia-ul-Haq, himself on an Islamization drive since he took power in 1977, talked of "simultaneous triumph of Islamic ideology in both our countries" and that "Khomeini is a symbol of Islamic insurgence." Some American analysts noted that, at this point, Khomeini's influence and prestige in Pakistan was greater than Zia-ul-Haq's himself. After Khomeini claimed that Americans were behind the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure, student protesters from the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad attacked the US embassy, setting it on fire and taking hostages. While the crisis was quickly defused by the Pakistan military, the next day, before some 120 Pakistani army officers stationed in Iran on the road to hajj, Khomeini said "it is a cause of joy that… all Pakistan has risen against the United States" and the struggle is not that of the US and Iran but "the entire world of disbelief and the world of Islam". According to journalist Yaroslav Trofimov, "the Pakistani officers, many of whom had graduated from Western military academies, seemed swayed by the ayatollah’s intoxicating words."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Ultimately only the Lebanese Islamists succeeded. The Islamic revolutionary government itself is credited with helping establish Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: On the other side of the ledger, at least one observer argues that despite great effort and expense the only countries outside Iran the revolution had a "measure of lasting influence" on are Lebanon and Iraq. Others claim the devastating Iran–Iraq War "mortally wounded ... the ideal of spreading the Islamic revolution," or that the Islamic Republic's pursuit of an ideological rather than a "nationalist, pragmatic" foreign policy has weakened Iran's "place as a great regional power".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Views differ on the impact of the revolution. For some it was "the most significant, hopeful and profound event in the entirety of contemporary Islamic history," while other Iranians believe that the revolution was a time when "for a few years we all lost our minds", and which "promised us heaven, but... created a hell on earth."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Internally, Iran has had some success in recent years in the broadening of education and health care for the poor, and particularly governmental promotion of Islam, and the elimination of secularism and American influence in government. Criticisms have been raised with regards to political freedom, governmental honesty and efficiency, economic equality and self-sufficiency, or even popular religious devotion. Opinion polls and observers report widespread dissatisfaction, including a "rift" between the revolutionary generation and younger Iranians who find it "impossible to understand what their parents were so passionate about." To honor the 40th anniversary of revolution around 50,000 prisoners were forgiven by order Ali Khamenei to receive "Islamic clemency". Many religious minorities such as Christians, Baháʼís, Jews and Zoroastrians have left since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Literacy has continued to increase under the Islamic Republic. By 2002, illiteracy rates dropped by more than half. Maternal and infant mortality rates have also been cut significantly. Population growth was first encouraged, but discouraged after 1988. Overall, Iran's Human development Index rating has climbed significantly from 0.569 in 1980 to 0.732 in 2002, on a par with neighbouring Turkey. In the latest HDI, however, Iran has since fallen 8 ranks below Turkey.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Iran has elected governmental bodies at the national, provincial, and local levels. Although these bodies are subordinate to theocracy – which has veto power over who can run for parliament (or Islamic Consultative Assembly) and whether its bills can become law – they have more power than equivalent organs in the Shah's government.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Iran's Sunni minority (about 8%) has seen some unrest. Five of the 290 parliamentary seats are allocated to their communities.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The members of the Baháʼí Faith have been declared heretical and subversive. While persecution occurred before the Revolution since then more than 200 Baháʼís have been executed or presumed killed, and many more have been imprisoned, deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. Baháʼí holy places have been confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed. More recently, Baháʼís in Iran have been deprived of education and work. Several thousand young Baháʼís between the ages of 17 and 24 have been expelled from universities.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Whether the Islamic Republic has brought more or less severe political repression is disputed. Grumbling once done about the tyranny and corruption of the Shah and his court is now directed against "the Mullahs." Fear of SAVAK has been replaced by fear of Revolutionary Guards, and other religious revolutionary enforcers. Violations of human rights by the theocratic government is said to be worse than during the monarchy, and in any case extremely grave. Reports of torture, imprisonment of dissidents, and the murder of prominent critics have been made by human rights groups.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Censorship is handled by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, without whose official permission, "no books or magazines are published, no audiotapes are distributed, no movies are shown and no cultural organization is established. Men and women are not allowed to dance or swim with each other."


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Throughout the beginning of the 20th century and prior to the revolution, many women leaders emerged and demanded basic social rights for women. During the reign of Reza Shah, the government mandated the removal of the veil and promoted the education of young girls. However, the push-back of the Shii clerics made progress difficult, and the government had to contain its promotion of basic women's rights to the norms of the patriarchal social hierarchy in order to accommodate the clerics. After the abdication of Reza Shah in 1941, the discipline of the government decreased, and women were able to further exercise their rights, including the ability to wear the veil if they wanted. More organization of women's groups occurred in the 1960s and 70s, and they used the government's modernization to define and advocate for women's issues. During these decades, women became active in formerly male domains such as the parliament, the cabinet, armed forces, legal professions, and fields of science and technology. Additionally, women achieved the right to vote in 1963. Many of these achievements and rights that Iranian women had gained in the decades leading up to the revolution were reversed by the Islamic Revolution.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The revolutionary government rewrote laws in an attempt to force women to leave the workforce by promoting the early retirement of female government employees, the closing of childcare centers, enforcing full Islamic cover in offices and public places, as well as preventing women from studying in 140 fields in higher education. Women fought back against these changes, and as activist and writer Mahnaz Afkhami writes, "The regime succeeded in putting women back in the veil in public places, but not in resocializing them into fundamentalist norms." After the revolution, women often had to work hard to support their families as the post-revolutionary economy suffered. Women also asserted themselves in the arts, literature, education, and politics.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Women – especially those from traditional backgrounds – participated on a large scale in demonstrations leading up to the revolution. They were encouraged by Ayatollah Khomeini to join him in overthrowing the Pahlavi dynasty. However, most of these women expected the revolution to lead to an increase in their rights and opportunities rather than the restrictions that actually occurred. The policy enacted by the revolutionary government and its attempts to limit the rights of women were challenged by the mobilization and politicization of women that occurred during and after the revolution. Women's resistance included remaining in the work force in large numbers and challenging Islamic dress by showing hair under their head scarves. The Iranian government has had to reconsider and change aspects of its policies towards women because of their resistance to laws that restrict their rights.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Since the revolution, university enrollment and the number of women in the civil service and higher education has risen. and several women have been elected to the Iranian parliament.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Homosexuality has a long history in pre-modern Iran. Sextus Empiricus asserts in his "Outlines of Scepticism" (written circa C.E. 200) that the laws of the Parthian Empire were tolerant towards homosexual behaviour, and Persian men were known to "indulge in intercourse with males." (1:152) These ancient practices continued into the Islamic period of Iran, with one scholar noting how "...homosexuality and homoerotic expressions were tolerated in numerous public places, from monasteries and seminaries to taverns, military camps, bathhouses and coffee houses. In the early Safavid era (1501-1723), male houses of prostitution ("amard khaneh") were legally recognized and paid taxes." It was during the late Qajar period that following modernization the society was heteronormalized. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a faux same-sex wedding occurred between two young men with ties to the royal court, which became a source of shame and outrage for some citizens and was utilized by Islamists as further evidence of the "immoral" monarchy. This also tied the monarchy to the West, which had begun to be regarded in reactionary Islamic discourse as immoral due to "...female nudity and open adult male homosexuality.".


title: Iranian Revolution

text: When Ruhollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, he called for homosexuals to be "exterminated", and one of his first political actions was to institute imprisonment, corporal punishment, and the death penalty for any sexual acts outside traditional Islamic heterosexual marriage. In a 1979 interview with The New York Times, a journalist asked Khomeini to justify the state-sanctioned shootings of homosexuals. In reply Khomeini compared them as well as other adulterers to gangrene, thieves, and murderers.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Iran is currently one of the world's only jurisdictions to actively execute gay men. Amnesty International reports that approximately 5,000 gays have been executed in Iran since the revolution, including two gay men executed in 2014, both hanged for engaging in consensual homosexual relations.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Iran's post-revolutionary economy has a significant state-owned or parastatal sector, including businesses owned by the Revolutionary Guards and Bonyad foundations.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Since the revolution Iran's GDP (PPP) has grown from $114 billion in 1980 to $858 billion in 2010. GDP per capita (PPP) has grown from $4,295 in 1980 to $11,396 in 2010.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: Since the revolution Iran's GDP (Nominal) has grown from $90.392 billion in 1979 to $385.874 in 2015. GDP per capita (nominal) has grown from $2290 in 1979 to $5470 in 2016. Real GNI per capita in 2011 constant international dollars decreased after the revolution and during the Iran-Iraq war from $7762 in 1979 to $3699 at the end of the war in 1989. After three decades of reconstruction and growth since then, it has not yet reached its 1979 level and has only recovered to $6751 in 2016. Data on GNI per capita in PPP terms is only available since 1990 globally. In PPP terms, GNI per capita has increased from Int. $11,425 in 1990 to Int. $18,544 in 2016. But most of this increase can be attributed to the rise in oil prices in the 2000s.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The value of Iran's currency declined precipitously after the revolution. Whereas on 15 March 1978, 71.46 rials equaled one U.S. dollar, in January 2018, 44,650 rials amounted to one dollar.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: The economy has become slightly more diversified since the revolution, with 80% of Iranian GDP dependent on oil and gas as of 2010, comparing to above 90% at the end of the Pahlavi period. The Islamic Republic lags some countries in transparency and ease of doing business according to international surveys. Transparency International ranked Iran 136th out of 175 countries in transparency (i.e. lack of corruption) for its 2014 index; and the IRI was ranked 130th out of the 189 countries surveyed in the World Bank 2015 Doing Business Report.


title: Iranian Revolution

text: It is said that there were attempts to incorporate modern political and social concepts into Islamic canon since 1950. The attempt was a reaction to the secular political discourse namely Marxism, liberalism and nationalism. Following the death of Ayatollah Boroujerdi, some of the scholars like Murtaza Mutahhari, Muhammad Beheshti and Mahmoud Taleghani found new opportunity to change conditions. Before them, Boroujerdi was considered a conservative Marja. They tried to reform conditions after the death of the ayatollah. They presented their arguments by rendering lectures in 1960 and 1963 in Tehran. The result of the lectures was the book "An inquiry into principles of Mar'jaiyat". Some of the major issues highlighted were the government in Islam, the need for the clergy's independent financial organization, Islam as a way of life, advising and guiding youth and necessity of being community. Allameh Tabatabei refers to velayat as a political philosophy for Shia and velayat faqih for Shia community. There are also other attempts to formulate a new attitude of Islam such as the publication of three volumes of Maktab Tashayyo. Also some believe that it is indispensable to revive the religious gathered in Hoseyniyeh-e-Ershad.


title: John Lithgow

text: John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Tony Awards. He has also received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1973 Lithgow made his Broadway debut in "The Changing Room" for which he received his first Tony Award. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in the plays "27 Wagons Full of Cotton", "A Memory of Two Mondays" and "Secret Service" at The Public Theatre. He received Tony Award nominations for "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1985), "M. Butterfly" (1988), and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (2005). In 2002, Lithgow received his second Tony Award, this time for a musical, "The Sweet Smell of Success". In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night". He returned to Broadway in the plays "The Columnist" (2012), "A Delicate Balance" (2014), and "Hillary and Clinton" (2019).


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996–2001) winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He also played Arthur Mitchell in the drama "Dexter" (2009) for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. In 2004, Lithgow played Blake Edwards in the HBO movie "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers". He has also appeared on "30 Rock", "How I Met Your Mother", and "Louie". Lithgow portrayed Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama "The Crown" (2016–2019) receiving a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He starred in HBO's "Perry Mason" (2020) and FX's "The Old Man" (2022).


title: John Lithgow

text: His early screen roles included Bob Fosse's "All That Jazz" (1979) and Brian De Palma's "Blow Out" (1981). He received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his breakout performance in "The World According to Garp" (1982) and his role in "Terms of Endearment" (1983). He then starred in the films "Footloose" (1984), "Harry and the Hendersons" (1987), "The Pelican Brief" and "Cliffhanger" (1993), "A Civil Action" (1998), "" (2000), "Shrek" (2001), "Kinsey" (2004), "Dreamgirls" (2006), "Love Is Strange" (2014), "Miss Sloane" (2016), "Beatriz at Dinner" (2017), "Late Night", and "Bombshell" (both 2019), and "Killers of the Flower Moon" (2022).


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow was born on October 19, 1945, in Rochester, New York. His mother, Sarah Jane Lithgow (née Price), was a retired actress. His father, Arthur Washington Lithgow III was a theatrical producer and director who ran McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. His father was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, to a European-American family; his great-grandfather was a vice consul and vice commercial agent in the country. He is the third of four children and has three siblings: an older brother David Lithgow, an older sister Robin Lithgow, and a younger sister Sarah Jane Boaker. On the show "Finding Your Roots", Lithgow discovered that he is a descendant of eight "Mayflower" passengers, including colonial governor William Bradford. Because of his father's job, the family moved frequently during Lithgow's childhood. He spent his childhood years in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where activist Coretta Scott King was his babysitter. He spent his teenage years in Akron (living at Stan Hywet Hall) and Lakewood, Ohio.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow graduated from Princeton High School in 1963. He then studied history and English literature at Harvard College. Lithgow lived in Adams House as an undergraduate and later served on Harvard's Board of Overseers. He credits a performance at Harvard of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Utopia Limited" with helping him decide to become an actor. He was a pupil of dramatist Robert Chapman who was the director of Harvard's Loeb Drama Center. Lithgow graduated from Harvard in 1967 with an A.B. "magna cum laude" and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After he graduated, Lithgow won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Also after graduation, he served as the Director of the Arts and Literature Department at WBAI, the Pacifica radio station in New York City.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1972, Lithgow made his film debut in "". In 1976 he starred in a pivotal role in Brian De Palma's "Obsession" with Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujold as Cliff Robertson's long time business partner Robert Lasalle.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1973, Lithgow debuted on Broadway in David Storey's "The Changing Room" at the Morosco Theatre, earning him his first Tony nomination for Featured Actor in a Play and his first win. He also won a Drama Desk Award. The following year he starred again on Broadway in the comedy play "My Fat Friend" opposite Lynn Redgrave at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. In 1976 he starred on Broadway in Arthur Miller's "A Memory of Two Mondays" opposite Meryl Streep and Tom Hulce at the Playhouse Theatre.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1979, Lithgow appeared in Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical movie "All That Jazz" as Lucas Sergeant. The character was loosely based on the real-life Broadway director and choreographer Michael Bennett, known for his work on "Follies", "Company", "Dreamgirls" and "A Chorus Line". Between 1978 and 1980, Lithgow appeared in ten episodes of the radio drama revival series "CBS Radio Mystery Theater".


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow voiced the character of Yoda in the National Public Radio adaptations of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi". He provided narration for the IMAX film "".


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1982 and 1983, Lithgow was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances as Roberta Muldoon in "The World According to Garp" and as Sam Burns in "Terms of Endearment". Both films were screen adaptations of popular novels. In 1983, Lithgow appeared in a remake of the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" in "" as the paranoid passenger made famous on the television show by William Shatner. In an interview with Bill Moyers, Lithgow reveals this role as his favorite of his film career.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1984, he starred in the film "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" as Dr. Emilio Lizardo / Lord John Whorfin. Also in 1984, he starred in "" and played a pastor who condemns dancing in "Footloose". In 1985, he starred opposite Jodie Foster in "Mesmerized". In 1986, he starred in "The Manhattan Project" directed by Marshall Brickman. In 1987, Lithgow starred in the Bigfoot-themed family comedy "Harry and the Hendersons".


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1985, he starred in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" written by Rod Serling at the Martin Beck Theatre. In 1988 he starred in David Henry Hwang's "M. Butterfly" alongside BD Wong at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1986, Lithgow received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his appearance in the episode "The Doll" of the "Amazing Stories" anthology series. Additionally, Lithgow has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for "The Day After" (1983) and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for "Resting Place" (1986) and "My Brother's Keeper" (1995). Lithgow was approached about playing Dr. Frasier Crane on "Cheers", but turned it down. Lithgow starred with Jeffrey Tambor in the NBC sitcom "Twenty Good Years".


title: John Lithgow

text: In television, Lithgow is probably most widely known for his starring role as Dick Solomon in the 1996–2001 NBC sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun". He received six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and won three times (1996, 1997, 1999). His son Ian regularly appeared alongside him as Leon, one of his physics students.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 1991, he starred in the movie "Ricochet" opposite Denzel Washington as Earl Talbot Blake, a criminal seeking revenge against the policeman who sent him to prison. Also in 1991, he played missionary Leslie Huben in the film adaptation of Peter Matthiessen's novel "At Play in the Fields of the Lord". In 1992, he starred as a man with multiple personality disorder in Brian De Palma's film "Raising Cain". In 1993, he starred in Renny Harlin's film "Cliffhanger" opposite Sylvester Stallone as terrorist leader Eric Qualen.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2001, Lithgow gained recognition for voicing the evil Lord Farquaad in the Academy Award-winning DreamWorks Animated film "Shrek" alongside Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz. In 2002, he narrated "Life's Greatest Miracle", a documentary about human embryonic development.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2002, Lithgow starred as J.J. Hunsecker in the Broadway adaptation of the 1957 film "Sweet Smell of Success" alongside Brian D'Arcy James. Lithgow won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance. In 2005, he starred on Broadway in the musical-comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". alongside Norbert Leo Butz at the Imperial Theatre. While both were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, Butz won over Lithgow. That same year Lithgow was elected into the American Theater Hall of Fame for his work on Broadway.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2003, Lithgow wrote the narrations for Christopher Wheeldon ballet "Carnival of the Animals" and appeared as the elephant character—nurse Mabel Buntz—with the New York City Ballet. He returned for a 2005 revival, the Houston Ballet production of the same show in 2007, and the Pennsylvania Ballet production of it in 2008. In 2007, Lithgow played Malvolio in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "Twelfth Night", at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in the United Kingdom.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2004, he portrayed the moralistic, rigid father of Alfred Kinsey in that year's biopic "Kinsey"; Liam Neeson also starred. In 2006, Lithgow had a small role in the Academy Award-winning film "Dreamgirls" as Jerry Harris, a film producer offering Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles) a film role. In 2010, he appeared briefly in the romantic comedy "Leap Year" playing Amy Adams' father.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2005, Lithgow became the first ever actor to deliver a commencement speech at Harvard University and received an honorary Doctor of Arts from his alma mater. He was featured at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on December 4–6, 2009 for performances of Mozart's Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He narrated some letters written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, some poems and sections from the Book of Revelation in certain parts of the performance.


title: John Lithgow

text: Since 2006, he has starred in Progresso commercials, advertising their soup brand. On March 5, 2009, Lithgow made a cameo on NBC's "30 Rock" acting in the episode "Goodbye, My Friend" with several references to his role in "Harry and the Hendersons". In September 2009, Lithgow joined the cast of "Dexter" as Arthur Mitchell, a serial killer and Dexter Morgan's nemesis. He won a Golden Globe Award for this role and won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series. He guest starred on "How I Met Your Mother" in the role of Barney Stinson's father, Jerry.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2008 through 2009, Lithgow played Joe Keller in a Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" directed by Simon McBurney. Lithgow starred alongside Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes in her Broadway debut at the Schoenfeld Theatre.


title: John Lithgow

text: He hosted Paloozaville, a children's Video on Demand program on Mag Rack based on his best-selling children's books. Lithgow also appears in "Books By You", a children's computer game and guides them through the steps to personalize a pre-designed book.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2010, Lithgow starred in the Off-Broadway production of Douglas Carter Beane's comedy "Mr & Mrs Fitch" alongside Jennifer Ehle at the Second Stage Theatre which ran from February 22, 2010, to April 4, 2010. In 2012 Lithgow returned to Broadway in David Auburn's play "The Columnist", which played at the Manhattan Theatre Club. The performance earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.


title: John Lithgow

text: On October 1, 2010, Lithgow appeared on Doug Benson's podcast "Doug Loves Movies", with fellow guests Paul F. Tompkins and Jimmy Pardo. He has appeared on Chris Hardwick's show "The Nerdist Podcast" in 2012 and the "WTF with Marc Maron" podcast in 2019. In September 2011, Lithgow was featured in a one-night only production of Dustin Lance Black's play "8", a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage—as Attorney Theodore Olson to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. In 2015, Lithgow did the voice over work for Gore Vidal in the documentary film "Best of Enemies" with Kelsey Grammer. On October 18, 2017, Lithgow coauthored the "New York Times" daily crossword puzzle.


title: John Lithgow

text: In the winter of 2012–13 he appeared in the London revival of Arthur Wing Pinero's "The Magistrate" as Police Magistrate Aeneas Posket at the National Theatre. In 2014, he returned to Central Park's Delacorte Theater and Shakespeare in the Park for the 2014 summer season in the title role of Shakespeare's "King Lear", directed by Tony Award Winner Daniel Sullivan. The production was the first play at the theater since 1973 and Lithgow's first time there since 1975 when he had played Laertes. In Fall 2014, Lithgow returned to Broadway as Tobias in a revival of Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance". He starred opposite Glenn Close, Martha Plimpton, Lindsay Duncan, Bob Balaban and Clare Higgins. Pam MacKinnon directed the limited 18-week production at the John Golden Theatre.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow gained critical attention for starring in Ira Sachs' independent romance film "Love Is Strange" (2014). The film received a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading "Held aloft by remarkable performances from John Lithgow and Alfred Molina, "Love Is Strange" serves as a graceful tribute to the beauty of commitment in the face of adversity." The film also received four Independent Spirit Award nominations, including for both Lithgow and Molina.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow during the 2010s appeared in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"., Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" (2014), Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman" (2014) and John Madden's "Miss Sloane" (2016)


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2015, Lithgow made a cameo on Louis C.K.'s Louie in the season five episode "Sleepover" alongside Glenn Close, Michael Cera and Matthew Broderick. In 2017, Lithgow starred in "Trial & Error" as a professor who becomes implicated in the murder of his wife in the first season (spring 2017) of the mockumentary series.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2016, Lithgow appeared in the first season of "The Crown" (2016) portraying Winston Churchill. Lithgow won numerous awards for his performance including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow then starred in the independent film "Beatriz at Dinner" (2017). Lithgow starred in the solo play "John Lithgow: Stories by Heart", which opened on Broadway on January 11, 2018, at the American Airlines Theatre, written by Lithgow. Lithgow has performed this play around the U.S. starting at the Lincoln Center Theater with Willie Nelson in 2008, with a return performance at Lincoln Center slated for April to May 2019.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2018, Lithgow was one of the actors who voiced the audiobook "A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo". In 2019, Lithgow lent his voice for an audio play "If You Win" by Emily Chadick Weiss for Playing on Air and was released in spring 2020.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow starred as Bill Clinton opposite Laurie Metcalf as Hillary Clinton in the Lucas Hnath play "Hillary and Clinton" on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre. The play opened on April 18, 2019, and closed on June 23, 2019.


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2019, Lithgow co-starred in Mindy Kaling's comedy "Late Night". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival was released June 7, 2019. He also played Fox News CEO Roger Ailes in the film "Bombshell".


title: John Lithgow

text: In 2020, Lithgow portrayed the lawyer Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan in season one of the HBO reboot of "Perry Mason". In the story, Mr. Birchard starts out as the employer of Mason, who is his investigator.


title: John Lithgow

text: On June 28, 2021, Showtime confirmed that Lithgow would reprise his role of Arthur Mitchell in the 10-episode "Dexter" limited series, with Clyde Phillips returning as the head writer. The series premiered on November 7, 2021.


title: John Lithgow

text: In August 2021, Lithgow joined the cast of Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" as Prosecutor Leaward.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow has done extensive work for children, including several books and albums. Some of his book titles are "Marsupial Sue", "Marsupial Sue Presents "The Runaway Pancake"", "Lithgow Party Paloozas!: 52 Unexpected Ways to Make a Birthday, Holiday, or Any Day a Celebration for Kids", "Carnival of the Animals", "A Lithgow Palooza: 101 Ways to Entertain and Inspire Your Kids", "I'm a Manatee", "Micawber", "The Remarkable Farkle McBride", "Mahalia Mouse Goes to College" and "I Got Two Dogs". He also appeared as a guest on "Ants in Your Pants", a Canadian children's program.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow launched into a career as a recording artist with "Singin' in the Bathtub", a 1999 album of children's music. In June 2002, Lithgow released his second children's album "Farkle and Friends". It was the musical companion to his book "The Remarkable Farkle McBride", which tells the story of a young musical genius . "Farkle and Friends" features the vocal talents of Lithgow and Bebe Neuwirth, backed by the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra as well. In August 2006, Lithgow released "The Sunny Side of the Street", his third children's album and first with Razor & Tie. This album features versions of classic songs from the Great American Songbook, including "Getting to Know You" and "Ya Gotta Have Pep". Produced by JC Hopkins, the album features guest appearances by Madeleine Peyroux, Wayne Knight, Sherie Rene Scott and Maude Maggart. Lithgow also makes occasional appearances on stage and television singing children's songs, accompanying himself on guitar.


title: John Lithgow

text: In June 2019, Lithgow portrayed Donald Trump in "The Investigation: A Search for Truth in Ten Acts", a live reading of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Staged on the altar of New York City's Riverside Church, the reading was created by playwright Robert Schenkkan and narrated by Annette Bening. It also featured Kevin Kline as Mueller, Joel Grey as Jeff Sessions, Jason Alexander as Chris Christie and Alfre Woodard as Hope Hicks.


title: John Lithgow

text: In October 2019, Lithgow published "Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse", a book of poems and illustrations. The project originated when Lithgow was asked to perform a Gilbert and Sullivan-style song he wrote about Michael Flynn. The book charted at number three on the "New York Times" hardcover nonfiction bestsellers in its first week. A follow-up book title "Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown" was released on September 29, 2020, by Chronicle Books.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow contributed voiceover work for the audio book version of "A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo", a 2018 children's book written by Jill Twiss, a comedy writer for HBO's television show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver". The book is a loose parody of "Marlon Bundo's A Day in the Life of the Vice President", a children's book written by then-Vice President of the United States Mike Pence's daughter Charlotte Pence and illustrated by his wife Karen Pence.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow has received two Tony Awards, six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, an American Comedy Award, four Drama Desk Awards and has also been nominated for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.


title: John Lithgow

text: Lithgow married Jean Taynton, a teacher in 1966. The couple had one son together, Ian (born 1972), who is an actor and a marriage and family therapist. Lithgow and his wife separated after he had an affair with actress Liv Ullmann and they divorced in 1980. Lithgow married UCLA history professor Mary Yeager in 1981 and they have a son and a daughter. Lithgow has been a supporter of Liverpool F.C. for many years.


title: Russian Revolution

text: The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a bloody civil war. The Russian Revolution can also be seen as the precursor for the other European revolutions that occurred during or in the aftermath of WWI, such as the German Revolution of 1918.


title: Russian Revolution

text: The Russian Revolution was inaugurated with the February Revolution in 1917. This first revolt focused in and around the then-capital Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg). After major military losses during the war, the Russian Army had begun to mutiny. Army leaders and high ranking officials were convinced that if Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, the domestic unrest would subside. Nicholas agreed and stepped down, ushering in a new government led by the Russian Duma (parliament) which became the Russian Provisional Government. This government was dominated by the interests of prominent capitalists, as well as the Russian nobility and aristocracy.


title: Russian Revolution

text: In response to these developments, grassroots community assemblies (called Soviets) were formed. These Soviets were led by soldiers and urban industrial proletarians, as well as rural farmers. The Soviets initially permitted the new Provisional Government to rule, however the Soviets did insist on a prerogative (privilege) in order to influence the government and to control various militias. By March, Russia was locked in a dual power as neither government trusted the other. The Provisional Government held state power in areas such as military and international affairs, whereas the network of Soviets held more power concerning domestic affairs. Critically, the Soviets held the allegiance of the working-class, as well as the growing urban middle-class.


title: Russian Revolution

text: During this chaotic period, there were frequent mutinies, protests and strikes. Many socialist and other leftist political organizations were engaged in daily struggle and vied for influence within the Provisional Government and the Soviets. Notable factions include the Social-Democrats, Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries, and the Anarchists. These organizations competed with the Bolsheviks ("Ones of the Majority"), a far-left party led by Vladimir Lenin, for political power and popular influence. Initially the Bolsheviks were a marginalized faction, however that changed following a series of developments including the use of their slogan, peace, land, and bread which promised to cease war with Germany, give land to the peasantry, and end the famine caused by Russia's involvement in WWI. These slogans had a direct effect on the growing Bolshevik popularity. Despite the virtual universal disdain towards the war effort, the Provisional Government chose to continue fighting anyway, giving the Bolsheviks and other socialist factions a justification to advance the revolution further. The Bolsheviks merged various workers' militias loyal to them into Red Guards, which would be capable of revolution.


title: Russian Revolution

text: The volatile situation in Russia reached its climax with the October Revolution, which was a Bolshevik armed insurrection by workers and soldiers in Petrograd that successfully overthrew the Provisional Government, transferring all its authority to the Bolsheviks. Under pressure from German military offensives, the Bolsheviks soon relocated the national capital to Moscow. The Bolsheviks which by now had secured a strong base of support within the Soviets and, as the supreme governing party, established their own government, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The RSFSR began the process of reorganizing the former empire into the world's first socialist state, to practice soviet democracy on a national and international scale. Their promise to end Russia's participation in the First World War was fulfilled when the Bolshevik leaders signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918. To further secure the new state, the Bolsheviks established the Cheka, a secret police that functioned as a revolutionary security service to weed out, execute, or punish those considered to be "enemies of the people" in campaigns called the red terror, consciously modeled on those of the French Revolution.


title: Russian Revolution

text: Although the Bolsheviks held large support in urban areas, they had many enemies both foreign and domestic that refused to recognize their government. As a result, Russia erupted into a bloody civil war, which pitted the "Reds" (Bolsheviks), against the enemies of the Bolshevik regime collectively called the White Army. The White Army consisted of: independence movements, monarchists, liberals, and anti-Bolshevik socialist parties. In response, Leon Trotsky began ordering workers' militias loyal to the Bolsheviks to begin merging and formed the Red Army. While many notable historical events occurred in Moscow and Petrograd, there were also major changes in cities throughout the state, and among national minorities throughout the empire and in the rural areas, where peasants took over and redistributed land.


title: Russian Revolution

text: As the war progressed, the RSFSR began establishing Soviet power in the newly independent republics that seceded from the Russian Empire. The RSFSR initially focused its efforts on the newly independent republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine. Wartime cohesion and intervention from foreign powers prompted the RSFSR to begin unifying these nations under one flag and created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Historians generally consider the end of the revolutionary period to be in 1923 when the Russian Civil War concluded with the defeat of the White Army and all rival socialist factions. The victorious Bolshevik Party reconstituted itself into the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and would remain in power for over six decades.


title: Russian Revolution

text: The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a major factor contributing to the cause of the Revolutions of 1917. The events of Bloody Sunday triggered nationwide protests and soldier mutinies. A council of workers called the St. Petersburg Soviet was created in this chaos. While the 1905 Revolution was ultimately crushed, and the leaders of the St. Petersburg Soviet were arrested, this laid the groundwork for the later Petrograd Soviet and other revolutionary movements during the lead up to 1917. The 1905 Revolution also led to the creation of a Duma (parliament), that would later form the Provisional Government following February 1917.


title: Russian Revolution

text: Russia's poor performance in 1914-1915 prompted growing complaints directed at Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family. A short wave of patriotic nationalism ended in the face of defeats and poor conditions on the Eastern Front of World War I. The Tsar made the situation worse by taking personal control of the Imperial Russian Army in 1915, a challenge far beyond his skills. He was now held personally responsible for Russia's continuing defeats and losses. In addition, Tsarina Alexandra, left to rule in while the Tsar commanded at the front, was German born, leading to suspicion of collusion, only to be exacerbated by rumors relating to her relationship with the controversial mystic Grigori Rasputin. Rasputin's influence led to disastrous ministerial appointments and corruption, resulting in a worsening of conditions within Russia.


title: Russian Revolution

text: After the entry of the Ottoman Empire on the side of the Central Powers in October 1914, Russia was deprived of a major trade route to the Mediterranean Sea, which worsened the economic crisis and the munitions shortages. Meanwhile, Germany was able to produce great amounts of munitions whilst constantly fighting on two major battlefronts.


title: Russian Revolution

text: The conditions during the war resulted in a devastating loss of morale within the Russian army and the general population of Russia itself. This was particularly apparent in the cities, owing to a lack of food in response to the disruption of agriculture. Food scarcity had become a considerable problem in Russia, but the cause of this did not lie in any failure of the harvests, which had not been significantly altered during wartime. The indirect reason was that the government, in order to finance the war, printed millions of rouble notes, and by 1917, inflation had made prices increase up to four times what they had been in 1914. Farmers were consequently faced with a higher cost of living, but with little increase in income. As a result, they tended to hoard their grain and to revert to subsistence farming. Thus the cities were constantly short of food. At the same time, rising prices led to demands for higher wages in the factories, and in January and February 1916, revolutionary propaganda, in part aided by German funds, led to widespread strikes. This resulted in a growing criticism of the government, including an increased participation of workers in revolutionary parties.


title: Russian Revolution

text: Liberal parties too had an increased platform to voice their complaints, as the initial fervor of the war resulted in the Tsarist government creating a variety of political organizations. In July 1915, a Central War Industries Committee was established under the chairmanship of a prominent Octobrist, Alexander Guchkov (1862–1936), including ten workers' representatives. The Petrograd Mensheviks agreed to join despite the objections of their leaders abroad. All this activity gave renewed encouragement to political ambitions, and in September 1915, a combination of Octobrists and Kadets in the Duma demanded the forming of a responsible government, which the Tsar rejected.


title: Russian Revolution

text: All these factors had given rise to a sharp loss of confidence in the regime, even within the ruling class, growing throughout the war. Early in 1916, Guchkov discussed with senior army officers and members of the Central War Industries Committee about a possible coup to force the abdication of the Tsar. In December, a small group of nobles assassinated Rasputin, and in January 1917 the Tsar's cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas, was asked indirectly by Prince Lvov whether he would be prepared to take over the throne from his nephew, Tsar Nicholas II. None of these incidents were in themselves the immediate cause of the February Revolution, but they do help to explain why the monarchy survived only a few days after it had broken out.


title: Russian Revolution

text: Meanwhile, Socialist Revolutionary leaders in exile, many of them living in Switzerland, had been the glum spectators of the collapse of international socialist solidarity. French and German Social Democrats had voted in favour of their respective governments' war efforts. Georgi Plekhanov in Paris had adopted a violently anti-German stand, while Alexander Parvus supported the German war effort as the best means of ensuring a revolution in Russia. The Mensheviks largely maintained that Russia had the right to defend herself against Germany, although Julius Martov (a prominent Menshevik), now on the left of his group, demanded an end to the war and a settlement on the basis of national self-determination, with no annexations or indemnities.


title: Russian Revolution

text: It was these views of Martov that predominated in a manifesto drawn up by Leon Trotsky (at the time a Menshevik) at a conference in Zimmerwald, attended by 35 Socialist leaders in September 1915. Inevitably Vladimir Lenin, supported by Zinoviev and Radek, strongly contested them. Their attitudes became known as the Zimmerwald Left. Lenin rejected both the defence of Russia and the cry for peace. Since the autumn of 1914, he had insisted that "from the standpoint of the working class and of the labouring masses the lesser evil would be the defeat of the Tsarist Monarchy"; the war must be turned into a civil war of the proletarian soldiers against their own governments, and if a proletarian victory should emerge from this in Russia, then their duty would be to wage a revolutionary war for the liberation of the masses throughout Europe.


title: Russian Revolution

text: An elementary theory of property, believed by many peasants, was that land should belong to those who work on it. At the same time, peasant life and culture was changing constantly. Change was facilitated by the physical movement of growing numbers of peasant villagers who migrated to and from industrial and urban environments, but also by the introduction of city culture into the village through material goods, the press, and word of mouth.