March 5- Stalin�s death

I'm sure you will join mosquito and me in a minute of silence today, in remembrance of the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and Premier of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin who died on this day, March 5 1953 in Moscow at the age of 74.

Only joking, about the minute of silence.
But dying he did, after an almost 30 years rule of the Soviet Union that wasn't short of momentous events, his rise to power in the mid 20s and the consequent purges of real and imagined opponents, the forced industrialization of his country that was only achieved under immense human costs, the defense of the country against the invasion of the Nazi-German aggressors, again with an enormous loss of Soviet lives and after WW2, the creation of an Empire in Eastern Europe that stood against the Western Block in the Cold War.
The sheer number of his victims, either through his purges or his disastrous economic policies, have guaranteed Stalin a place amongst the great villains of the 20th century, next to Hitler and Mao, and neither the Soviet Union, although it was de-stalinised after his death nor the idea of Communism that he pretended to represent, ever recovered from his long reign over the first Socialist state in history.



Josef Stalin


Did Stalin cause the death of Millions of his compatriots, our next villain is responsible for a far greater number of victims. Apparently, on March 5 ,1558 the idea of smoking tobacco was introduced into Europe by the Spaniard Francisco Fernandez. The tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum) was imported from the Americas where the indigenous population had cultivated it for centuries. It was mainly used in religious ceremonies, taken in large quantities to induce hallucinations.
It soon became enormously popular in Europe, and its importance as cash crop contributed to the acceleration of the colonization of the American continent.




Nicotiana tabacum

On March 5, 1933 the Nazi party (NSDAP) gained 44% of the popular vote, still not the expected majority, and despite setting the Reichstag on fire and eliminating parts of the left and democratic opposition. It was however enough to form a coalition with other right-wing, nationalist parties and soon after grant Hitler dictatorial power.


On March 5, 1946, during a speech in Westminster College, Fulton, Mo, Winston Churchill coined the term �Iron Curtain�that symbolised the Cold War divisions in Europe: � "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron Curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in ... the Soviet sphere."


Complete list of events:

Wikipedia

Originally posted by Ulrich von Hutten as i could see in the past some members remind us every day to important events of the iranian history. i decided to do the same of the iclandic history. but unfortunately just today in our history nothing important happened. nevertheless i want to share some glorious moments with you. March 05. 1984 a heavy snowstorm alighted over greater reykjavik. 5 hunters were missed for 2 days ,but survived in a shed they build out of snow,ice and limbs. March 05. 1992 Gudmundur Einarsson left his house at Kevlavik only to come back after 6 hours. March 05. 1998 A bicycle was stolen at the early morning at habourstreet and never came back. I must admit that's not much in comparison to the events of other countries but i promise to post some more relevant things in the future.

I'm glad you have decided to inform us about these many important events in Icelandic history and already look forward to more riveting stories from your, alas rather unknown, little island.
One question remains: What happened to Gudmundur Einarsson from Kevlavik in those dramatic six hours. Has it ever been disclosed and was the CIA or Mossad involved in his temporary disappearance? I
I think we deserve to be told.

Iekshanbe 14 Espand

1967: Iran lost  a great man, a Nationalist, a prime minister, a parliament member, who Nationalized OIL, Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh

Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh (Persian: محمد مصدق‎) (May 19, 1882 - March 5, 1967) was prime minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953. Mossadegh's name is sometimes spelled Mosaddegh or Mosaddeq (note the doubled "d"), the latter of which better reflects the original Persian pronunciation (mos�d'deq) and orthography. He was removed from power by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and pro-monarchy forces in a complex coup led by British and US intelligence agencies.

Rise to Power

He was a prominent member of the Qajar family. After being educated at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Mohammed Mossadegh got his start in Iranian politics in 1914, when he was appointed Governor General of the Iranian province of Fars by Ahmad Shah Qajar and was titled Mosaddegh os-Saltaneh by the Shah. He was later appointed finance minister, in the government of Ghavam os-Saltaneh in 1921, and then foreign minister, in the government of Hassan Pirnia Moshir od-Dowleh in June, 1923. Later in 1923, he was elected to the Iranian parliament but resigned shortly after, following the selection of Reza Pahlavi as Shah.

By 1944 Reza Pahlavi had abdicated, and Mossadegh was once again elected to parliament. This time he ran as a member of the National Front of Iran (Jebhe Melli), a nationalist organization which he had founded that aimed to end the foreign presence that had established itself in Iran following the Second World War, especially regarding the exploitation of Iran's rich oil resources.

After negotiations for higher oil royalties failed, on March 15, 1951 the Iranian parliament (the Majlis) voted to nationalize Iran's oil industry and seize control of the British-owned and operated Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Prime minister General Haji-Ali Razmara, elected in June 1950, had opposed the nationalization bill on technical grounds. He was assassinated on March 7, 1951 by Khalil Tahmasebi, a member of the militant fundamentalist group Fadayan-e Islam. On April 28, 1951, the Majlis named Mossadegh as new prime minister by a vote of 79-12. Aware of Mossadegh's rising popularity and political power, the young Shah was left with no other option but to give assent to the Parliament's vote. Shortly after coming to office, Mossadegh enforced the Oil Nationalization Act, which involved the expropriation of the AIOC's assets.

Responding to the latter, the British government announced it would not allow Mossadegh's government to export any oil produced in the formerly British-controlled factories. A blockade of British ships was established in the Persian Gulf to prevent any attempts by Iran to ship oil out of the country. Furthermore, the AIOC withdrew its British trained technicians when Mossadegh nationalized the oil industry. Thus, many of the refineries lacked properly trained technicians that were needed to continue production. An economic stalemate thus ensued, with Mossadegh's government refusing to allow any British involvement in Iran's oil industry, and Britain refusing to allow any oil to leave Iran.

Since Britain had long been Iran's primary oil-consumer, the stalemate was particularly hard on Iran. While the country had once boasted over a 100 million dollars a year in exports to Britain, after nationalization, the same oil industry began increasing Iran's debt by nearly 10 million dollars a month. The Abadan Crisis quickly plunged the country into economic difficulties.

Despite the economic hardships of his nationalization plan, Mossadegh remained popular, and in 1952 was approved by parliament for a second term. Sensing the difficulties of a worsening political and economic climate, he announced that he would request the Shah grant him emergency powers. Thus, during the royal approval of his new cabinet, Mossadegh asked the Shah to grant him full control of the military and Ministry of War. The Shah refused, and Mossadegh announced his resignation.

Ahmed Qavam was appointed as Iran's new prime minister. On the day of his appointment, he announced his intention to resume negotiations with the British to end the oil dispute. This blatant reversal of Mossadegh's plans sparked a massive public outrage. Protestors of all stripes filled the streets, including communists and radical Muslims led by Ayatollah Kashani. Frightened by the unrest, the Shah quickly dismissed Qavam, and re-appointed Mossadegh, granting him the full control of the military he had previously requested.

Taking advantage of his popularity, Mossadegh convinced the parliament to grant him increased powers and appointed Ayatollah Kashani as house speaker. Kashani's radical Muslims, as well as the Tudeh Party, proved to be two of Mossadegh's key political allies, although both relationships were often strained.

Mossadegh quickly implemented more socialist reforms. Iran's centuries old feudal agriculture sector was abolished, and replaced with a system of collective farming and government land ownership.

Plot against Mossadegh

The government of Britain had grown increasingly distressed over Mossadegh's reforms and were especially bitter over the loss of their control on the Iranian oil industry. Despite Mossadegh's repeated attempts to negotiate a reasonable settlement with them they refused outright the same terms, and later total control over Iranian oil.

Unable to resolve the issue singlehandedly due to its post second world war problems, Britain looked towards the United States to settle the issue. The United States was falsely informed that Mossadegh was increasingly turning towards communism and was moving Iran towards the Soviet sphere at a time of high cold war fears.

Acting on the fears created by Britain the United States and Britain began to publicly denounce Mossadegh's policies for Iran as harmful to the country.

In October of 1952, Mossadegh declared that Britain was "an enemy," and cut all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. In November and December 1952, British intelligence officials suggested to American intelligence that the prime minister should be ousted. The new US administration under Dwight Eisenhower and the British government under Winston Churchill agreed to work together toward Mossadegh's removal.

On April 4, 1953, US Central Intelligence Agency director Allen W. Dulles approved $1 million to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh." Soon the CIA's Tehran station started to launch a propaganda campaign against Mossadegh. Finally, according to The New York Times, in early June, American and British intelligence officials met again, this time in Beirut, and put the finishing touches on the strategy. Soon afterward, according to his later published accounts, the chief of the CIA's Near East and Africa division, Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. a grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, arrived in Tehran to direct it.

The plot, known as Operation Ajax, centered around convincing Iran's monarch to use his constitutional authority to dismiss Mossadegh from office, as he had attempted some months earlier. But the Shah was uncooperative, and it would take much persuasion and many meetings to successfully execute the plan. Meanwhile, the CIA stepped up its operations. According to Dr. Donald N. Wilber, who was involved in the plot to remove Mossadegh from power, in early August, Iranian CIA operatives pretending to be socialists and nationalists threatened Muslim leaders with "savage punishment if they opposed Mossadegh," thereby giving the impression that Mossadegh was cracking down on dissent, and stirring anti-Mossadegh sentiments within the religious community.

Mossadegh became aware of the plots against him and grew increasingly wary of conspirators acting within his government. He set up a national referendum to dissolve parliament. Some purport that the vote was rigged, with Mossadegh claiming a 99.9 percent victory for the "yes" side. Allegations that Mossadegh was resorting to dictatorial tactics to stay in power were in turn cited by US- and British-supported opposition press as a reason to remove Mossadegh from power. Parliament was suspended indefinitely, and Mossadegh's emergency powers were extended.

Inside Iran, Mossadegh's popularity was eroding as promised reforms failed to materialize and the economy continued to suffer due to heavy British sanctions. The Tudeh Party abandoned its alliance with Mossadegh, as did the conservative clerical factions.

To remain in power Mossadegh knew he would have to continue consolidating his power. Since Iran's monarch was the only person who constitutionally outranked him, he perceived Iran's 33-year-old king to be his biggest threat. In August of 1953 Mossadegh attempted to convince the Shah to leave the country. The Shah refused, and formally dismissed the Prime Minister, in accordance with the foreign intelligence plan. Mossadegh refused to quit, however, and when it became apparent that he was going to fight, the Shah, as a precautionary measure foreseen by the British/American plan, flew to Baghdad and on from there to Rome, Italy.

Commentators assumed it was only a matter of time before Mossadegh declared Iran a republic and made himself president. This would have made him the head of state, something Mossadegh had promised he would never do.

Once again, massive protests broke out across the nation. Anti- and pro-monarchy protestors violently clashed in the streets, leaving almost 300 dead. Funded with money from the U.S. CIA and the British MI6, the pro-monarchy forces quickly gained the upper hand. The military intervened as the pro-Shah tank regiments stormed the capital and bombarded the prime minister's official residence. Mossadegh surrendered, and was arrested on August 19, 1953.

One of the leaders of the coup, General Fazlollah Zahedi, was proclaimed Prime Minister. The Shah himself, after a brief exile in Italy, was rushed back to Iran and returned to the throne. His attempted overthrow and subsequent restoration to power had all occurred within a week.

Mossadegh was tried for treason, and sentenced to three years in prison. Following his release he remained under house arrest until his death in on March 5, 1967. The new government under the Shah in August 1954 reached an agreement with foreign oil companies to "restore the flow of Iranian oil to world markets in substantial quantities." [1].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossadegh

http://www.mohammadmossadegh.com/

http://www.iranianshistoryonthisday.com/FARSI.ASP?u=&I1. x=25&I1.y=14&GD=5&GM=3

Gallery: Mossadegh in US, 1951
Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh examining the famous Liberty Bell, which rung in 1776, while visiting Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He was joined by Mayor Bernard Samuels.

http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9565& ; ;PN=2

@ulrich von hutten:
very interesting to read about Iceland
At least for me, It's unkonwn part of World