We cannot leave these rapid and satisfactory events without paying
a tribute to the wisdom and good faith with which M. Sablin, the Russian Charge d'Affaires, has acted. The special correspondent of the Times says that the greatest pressure was put on him, not only by the Russian colony, but by other foreigners, to summon the Russian expedi- tionary force immediately to Teheran. The director of the Russian bank even telegraphed alarmist warnings direct to St. Petersburg. But M. Sablin, fortified with the approval of Sir George Barclay, resisted all persuasions, and decided that the presence of the Russian force was not necessary for the safety of foreigners, and that there could be no other excuse for summoning it. In the circumstances this was not an easy decision for him to take ; although his sagacity told him that the arrival of Russian troops would probably lead to a fatal encounter with the Nationalists if they were affronted in their exultant mood, he still had to face the risk of being cruelly blamed if the foreigners should after all suffer any harm. His straightforwardness and firmness were justified, and as his action has been approved throughout by the
Russian Government, we trust that some of the English critics of Russian policy in Persia will reconsider the rather ungenerous forebodings in which they have indulged so freely.
