Religion, Conspiracy, and National Unity: Anti-Baha’i Rhetoric in the Fake Persian-Language “Memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov”
Abstract
This article analyzes the narratives of the conspiracy text “Memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov”, which was published in Tehran in 1943 and presented an alternative version of the emergence of Bábi and Baha’i religious movements in Iran. Although the events of the “Memoirs” took place in the 19th century, the spread of the document continued throughout the 1940s, serving as a reflection of the cultural trauma and crisis of national identity during the Anglo-Soviet occupation of Iran. The article demonstrates how the text united three key narratives of the era: anti-imperialist (the constant threat from foreign powers), Islamist (the defense of “original” Islam from internal heresies), and nationalist (the cult of national unity and purity). By interpreting the religious movements as instruments of disunity within the Iranian nation, the author of the “Memoirs” alienates them and portrays society as the victim of constant conspiracy of foreign agents and their domestic spies. On the one hand, the document reflects the initial stage of processing cultural trauma in the Iranian society. On the other hand, the “Memoirs” serve as a tool of ideological mobilization that aimed at uniting a fractured society with a narrative of resistance to external and internal “others”.
About the Author
V. S. Titova
HSE University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Veronica S. Titova — Graduate Student
Moscow
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Review
For citations:
Titova V.S. Religion, Conspiracy, and National Unity: Anti-Baha’i Rhetoric in the Fake Persian-Language “Memoirs of Prince Dolgorukov”. State, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide. 2026;44(2):158-187. (In Russ.)
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