Moritz Deutschmann holds a PhD from the European University Institute, Florence, and was a postdoctoral fellow of the journal Past&Present at the Institute of Historical Research, London. His main research interests lie in Russian and Iranian history, and the history of empire in Eurasia.
"""Deutschmann examines Russo-Iranian relations from the wars of the early 19th century that resulted in the Russian annexation of Transcaucasia—what is today Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan—through WW II. The author is critical of the “Great Game” approach, which he suggests confuses Russo-British rivalry in the region with the actual exercise of power on the ground and takes for granted Russian and British power, even “mastery,” in a region where the reality was far more complex. Instead, he argues, Russia’s historical role in Iran was shaped more by longstanding relations between the Romanov and Qajar dynasties, merchant networks, and the entanglement of both empires in the complex tribal politics of the region. Political power in 19th-century Iran, Deutschmann explains, rested on a “delicate balance between tribal groups, urban merchant communities, and a monarchy whose use of grandiloquent titles—for example, the 'pivot of the universe,' contrasted with its factual powerlessness.” “Persian anarchy” was a challenge for the Russian Empire, whose officials worked with the Qajar state on issues of trade and border establishment, seeking to shore up Qajar rule and shaping it by both diplomatic pressure and example. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty."" M. A. Soderstrom, Aurora University - CHOICE ""The book is well researched, clearly organized, and convincingly argued, making for enlightening and pleasant reading... The format of the book is reader-friendly: the narrative is accompanied by several maps and illustrations; each chapter is followed by endnotes and a bibliography... This excellent book leaves the reader wishing that the author would expand his research beyond the year 1913—until at least 1917—and address the relationship between the Russians and the Shi’a ulama in Iran."" Elena Andreeva, Virginia Military Institute, The Russian Review ""Deutschmann examines Russo-Iranian relations from the wars of the early 19th century that resulted in the Russian annexation of Transcaucasia—what is today Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan—through WW II. The author is critical of the “Great Game” approach, which he suggests confuses Russo-British rivalry in the region with the actual exercise of power on the ground and takes for granted Russian and British power, even “mastery,” in a region where the reality was far more complex. Instead, he argues, Russia’s historical role in Iran was shaped more by longstanding relations between the Romanov and Qajar dynasties, merchant networks, and the entanglement of both empires in the complex tribal politics of the region. Political power in 19th-century Iran, Deutschmann explains, rested on a “delicate balance between tribal groups, urban merchant communities, and a monarchy whose use of grandiloquent titles—for example, the 'pivot of the universe,' contrasted with its factual powerlessness.” “Persian anarchy” was a challenge for the Russian Empire, whose officials worked with the Qajar state on issues of trade and border establishment, seeking to shore up Qajar rule and shaping it by both diplomatic pressure and example. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty."" M. A. Soderstrom, Aurora University - CHOICE"