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113-794: Bahari was born in Tehran , Imperial State of Iran , but moved to Pakistan in 1987 before he immigrated to Canada in 1988 to study communications. His family has been involved in dissident politics in Iran: his father was imprisoned by the Shah 's regime in the 1950s, and his sister Maryam under the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s. He is married to Paola Gourley, an Italian-English lawyer working in London, who gave birth to their first child in October 2009 shortly after his release from prison. He graduated with

226-569: A " wave of democracy ," between the Revolutions of 1989 and the 2010–2012 Arab Spring . Russia , China , and Iran have accused the Western world of orchestrating colour revolutions to expand its influence. The first of these was Otpor! ('Resistance!') in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, founded at Belgrade University in October 1998 and began protesting against Miloševic during

339-504: A complaint against Iranian government's English satellite channel, Press TV , for filming and airing an interview with him under duress. In May 2011, Ofcom upheld Bahari's three complaints against Press TV . In the summary, Ofcom said Press TV 's presentation of Bahari was unfair because it "omitted material facts and was placed in a context in which inferences adverse to Mr Bahari could be drawn". The media regulator also said that Press TV failed to get his consent and this "contributed to

452-413: A country known for neorealist fiction films that focus on small events in the lives of individuals, the work of Iranian director Maziar Bahari is somewhat anomalous. Employing a traditional documentary style to explore more far-reaching cultural events, Bahari's films provide a glimpse inside contemporary Iranian culture as they reveal the human element behind the headlines and capture cultural truths through

565-535: A crisis and the dissolution of parliament . Ahmad Shah Qajar and his entourage decided to leave Tehran and move the capital to another place, sparking fears of rebellion in other cities. During the Battle of Robat Karim , Iranian forces led by Heydar Latifiyan prevented the Russians from taking Tehran, despite the latter winning the battle. This also allowed government functions to be moved to Qom and then to Isfahan, while

678-582: A degree in communications from Concordia University in Montreal in 1993, before continuing some additional studies at the nearby McGill University . Soon after, Bahari made his first film, The Voyage of the Saint Louis , about the attempt by 937 German Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany on that ship in 1939, who were turned away by Cuba , the United States , and Canada, and ultimately forced to return to

791-471: A means of serving their security interests at low cost and with minimal casualties." Government figures in Russia , such as Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (in office from 2012 to 2024) and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (in office from 2004), have characterized colour revolutions as externally-fuelled acts with a clear goal of influencing the internal affairs that destabilize the economy, conflict with

904-489: A million votes may have been altered. The belief that the election had been rigged led to mass protests starting. State TV purposely ignored the protests, even after more than 1,000 arrests and the key organisers being targeted. The protests began on 4 December 2011 in the Russian capital of Moscow against the election results, leading to the arrests of over 500 people. On 10 December, protests erupted in tens of cities across

1017-567: A mission to work for Zionists . In 1997 Bahari began reporting in Iran and making independent documentaries, and in 1998 he became Newsweek magazine's correspondent in Iran. He has produced a number of other documentaries and news reports for Channel 4 , BBC and other broadcasters around the world on subjects as varied as private lives of Ayatollahs , African architecture , Iranians' passion for football and contemporary history of Iran . In 2003, Harvard Film Archive praised Bahari's work: "In

1130-526: A notable humiliation when he was loudly booed by the 20,000 strong crowd when attending and speaking at a public and televised fight bout, which indicated that there was opposition to him again returning to the presidency. State TV edited out the boos to hide the opposition to him, but videos of it quickly spread online. Then, Putin's ruling party was controversially declared the winner of the parliamentary elections , despite well-documented accusations and evidence of fraud. Independent estimates showed that over

1243-412: A preposterous margin. Video footage was discovered showing examples of vote rigging, such as an individual secretly and repeatedly feeding ballot papers into a voting machine. At a victory rally held in suspicious circumstances only minutes after polls closed and before vote-counting was even completed, Putin was seen to be showing emotion and apparently crying as he was abruptly declared the winner. With

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1356-575: A segment of the television news program 60 Minutes and was the subject of an article in Newsweek . Bahari stated he confessed on television after physical and psychological torture. He was held in solitary confinement, interrogated daily (either blindfolded or made to face away from his interrogator), threatened with execution, and repeatedly slapped, kicked, punched, and hit with a belt by his interrogator. Bahari's interrogator told him they knew he (Bahari) "was working for four different intelligence agencies:

1469-546: A series of often non-violent protests and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government and society that took place in post-Soviet states (particularly Georgia , Ukraine , and Kyrgyzstan ) and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the early 21st century. The aim of the colour revolutions was to establish Western-style liberal democracies . They were primarily triggered by election results widely viewed as falsified. The colour revolutions were marked by

1582-406: A spy as a joke for the story.) He believes he was targeted to intimidate other international Iranian-born journalists, who can operate free of regime minders, blend in with crowds, and understand the cultural and linguistic nuances of the moves the regime makes (unlike foreign journalists). In interviews Bahari stated that his interrogator told him not to talk about what happened to him in prison, as

1695-425: A substantial urban structure as a blessing, because it minimized the chances of resistance to his rule by the notables and by the general public. Moreover, he had to remain within close reach of Azerbaijan and Iran's integral northern and southern Caucasian territories —at that time not yet irrevocably lost per the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay to the neighboring Russian Empire —which would follow in

1808-480: A tent protest camp on October Square for several days and nights, which failed to be broken up by police and indicated that the opposition had gained a foothold. Subsequently, on Friday 24 March, riot police stormed the camp and wrestled around fifty people into trucks and detained hundreds of others. The next day, Saturday 25 March 2006, a large opposition rally took place, despite police attempting to prevent protesters gathering at October Square. Alyaksandr Kazulin

1921-498: A £100,000 fine for showing Bahari's 'confession' was connected with the revocation of Press TV's licence to broadcast in the UK, via satellite, in January 2012. Bahari wrote a prison memoir and family history, Then They Came for Me . The book became a New York Times Best Seller and has been called "incredible" by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show who worked with Bahari on his film based on

2034-487: Is finished') become a defining symbol in retrospect, celebrating the success of the protests. The protests have come to be known as the Bulldozer Revolution due to the use of a wheel loader that protesters drove into the building used by Radio Television of Serbia , which was the main broadcast arm of Milošević's government. There was civil unrest , described by some as a revolution, all over Moldova following

2147-713: Is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language , and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians . However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars , but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language . Iranian Azeris form

2260-473: Is not only a fascinating, human exploration into Bahari's personal experience but it also provides insight into the shared experience of those affected by repressive governments everywhere." Kirkus Reviews praised the book for "Providing an illuminating glimpse into the security apparatus of one of the world's most repressive countries. Especially timely given recent events throughout the Middle East, this book

2373-511: Is ready for some 'orange' or, what is a rather frightening option, 'blue' or ' cornflower blue ' revolution. Such 'blue' revolutions are the last thing we need". On 19 April 2005, he further commented: "All these coloured revolutions are pure and simple banditry." Lukashenko later himself apparently admitted that the 2006 election was rigged, being quoted in Belarusian media as saying: "last presidential elections were rigged; I already told this to

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2486-404: Is recommended for anyone wishing to better understand the workings of a police state." [REDACTED] Media related to Maziar Bahari at Wikimedia Commons Tehran Tehran ( / t ɛəˈr æ n , - ˈ r ɑː n , ˌ t eɪ -/ ; Persian : تهران Persian pronunciation: [tehˈɾɒːn] Tehrân ) is the capital and largest city of Iran. In addition to serving as

2599-464: Is served by Imam Khomeini International Airport , alongside the domestic Mehrabad Airport , a central railway station , Tehran Metro , a bus rapid transit system, trolleybuses , and a large network of highways . Plans to relocate the capital from Tehran to another area due to air pollution and earthquakes have not been approved so far. A 2016 survey of 230 cities across the globe by Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life . According to

2712-600: The 2000 Yugoslavian general election , activists that opposed the government of Slobodan Milošević created a unified opposition and engaged in civic mobilization through get-out-the-vote campaigns. This approach had been used in other parliamentary elections in Bulgaria (1997) , Slovakia (1998) , and Croatia (2000) . However, election results were contested with the Federal Election Commission announcing that opposition candidate Vojislav Koštunica had not received

2825-493: The 2009 Parliamentary election , owing to the opposition's assertion that the communists had fixed the election. In the lead-up to the election, there had been an overwhelming pro-communist bias in the media, and the composition of electoral registers was subject to scrutiny. European electoral observers had concluded that there was "undue administrative influence" in the election. There had also been anger at president Vladimir Voronin , who had agreed to step down as term limits in

2938-416: The 2020 Belarusian presidential election , there were another wave of mass protests to challenge Lukashenko's authority. The protests started claiming fraud after incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected. The main opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya declared herself the winner, saying that she won by a large margin. She then set up the “ Coordination Council ,” which was recognized as

3051-565: The Alborz mountains. In English, it is also spelt " Teheran ", with both variants being used in books since at least 1800, and "Teheran" being the dominant form from after WWII until shortly before the Islamic Revolution. Archaeological remains from the ancient city of Ray suggest that settlement in Tehran dates back over 6,000 years. Tehran is in the historical Media region of ( Old Persian : 𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda ) in northwestern Iran. By

3164-471: The BBC reported on numerous cases of torture and ill-treatment and brutality towards protesters. Russia backed and supported the ruling Moldovan communist government. The only foreign leader to congratulate Voronin and Moldova after the disputed election was Russian president Dmitry Medvedev . Analysists observed that the protests appeared to be spontaneous and that they partly originated from protesters dislike of

3277-464: The CIA , Mossad , MI6 and Newsweek ." Bahari believes it was desperation to find "any evidence to prove I was a spy" that led his captors to believe his providing an American TV personality with a list of Iranians they could talk to in Iran, was evidence of his being a spy. (Bahari provided such a list shortly before he was interviewed by Jason Jones a "correspondent" of The Daily Show , who dressed up as

3390-658: The Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations . In 2016, the Tehran City Council declared 6 October to be Tehran Day, celebrating the date in 1907 when the city officially became the capital of Iran. Various theories on the origin of the name Tehran have been put forward. Iranian linguist Ahmad Kasravi , in an article "Shemiran-Tehran", suggested that Tehran and Kehran mean "the warm place", and "Shemiran" means "the cool place". He listed cities with

3503-532: The Golestan Palace , Tekye Dowlat , and Tupkhane Square , were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the buildings of the National Bank , the police headquarters, the telegraph office, and the military academy. Changes to the urban fabric began with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The Grand Bazaar

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3616-1095: The Kosovo War . Most of them were already veterans of anti-Milošević demonstrations such as the 1996–97 protests and the 9 March 1991 protest . Many of its members were arrested or beaten by the police. Despite this, during the presidential campaign in September 2000, Otpor! launched its Gotov je (He's finished) campaign that galvanized Serbian discontent with Milošević and resulted in his defeat. Members of Otpor! have inspired and trained members of related student movements, including Kmara in Georgia, PORA in Ukraine, Zubr in Belarus, and MJAFT! in Albania. These groups have been explicit and scrupulous in their non-violent resistance , as advocated and explained in Gene Sharp 's writings. In

3729-606: The Mongol invasion . In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city to ruins, and massacred many of its inhabitants. Others escaped to Tehran. In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran on a journey to Samarkand , the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur , the ruler of Iran at the time. He described it in his diary as an unwalled region. Italian traveler Pietro della Valle passed through Tehran overnight in 1618, and in his memoirs called

3842-586: The Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939. Demands for closer relations with Romania had increased due to Romania's EU membership contrasting with economic stagnation and failure in Moldova. Under the communists, Moldova had the status of the poorest country in Europe, and international agencies had criticised the government for failing to address corruption and for limiting press freedoms. The government attempted to discredit

3955-672: The Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire , the Milad Tower , the world's sixth-tallest self-supporting tower , completed in 2007, another famous landmark in Tehran is the Tabiat Bridge , completed in 2014. Most of the population are Persian , with roughly 99% of them speaking the Persian language , alongside other ethnolinguistic groups in the city which became Persianized and assimilated. Tehran

4068-578: The Revolutionary Guards have "people all around the world and they can always bring me back to Iran in a bag". Bahari has stated that he will not be able to safely return to Iran until the Islamic Republic falls. In Iran he was tried in absentia by a revolutionary court , and sentenced to thirteen and a half years' imprisonment plus 74 lashes. Upon his release, Bahari launched a campaign in support of other jailed journalists in Iran. The name of

4181-640: The Third Reich . In producing the film, Bahari became the first Muslim to make a film about the Holocaust. When asked what motivated him to make the film, he cited the courses he took at Concordia, where he: studied the modern history of the Jews and I was fascinated by the history of the Jews in North America. I took a course on Freud and religion and the professor talked a lot about early 20th century anti-Semitism in

4294-454: The University of Tehran , in many districts of Tehran across various socio-economic classes in proportion to population sizes of each district and socio-economic class, 63% of the people were born in Tehran, 98% knew Persian, 75% identified themselves as ethnic Persian, and 13% had some degree of proficiency in a European language. Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethnic-social composition in

4407-450: The presidential election , aged only 47. Vladimir Kara-Murza , another key figure in the protests, later survived suspected poisonings in 2015 and 2017 before being imprisoned for 25 years on charges widely considered politically motivated in 2022. Ilya Yashin , another key leader of the protests, was likewise another figure convicted on politically-motivated charges after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine . Protest figure Dmitry Bykov

4520-462: The 1920s, and Tehran became a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century. Tehran is home to many historical sites, including the royal complexes of Golestan , Sa'dabad , and Niavaran , where the last two dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran's landmarks include the Azadi Tower , a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of

4633-497: The 2006 protests, some called it the "Jeans Revolution" or "Denim Revolution," blue jeans being considered a symbol for freedom. Some protesters cut up jeans into ribbons and hung them in public places. Lukashenko had previously indicated his plans to crush any potential election protests, saying: "In our country, there will be no pink or orange, or even banana revolution." On 24 February 2005, he said, "They [the West] think that Belarus

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4746-1330: The 22 municipal districts, 20 are located in Tehran County 's Central District , while districts 1 and 20 are respectively located in the counties of Shemiranat and Ray . North : District 1:  • Farmaniyeh  • Evin  • Darakeh  • Zaferaniyeh  • Mahmoodiyeh  • Velenjak  • Darband  • Golabdarreh  • Jamaran  • Dezashib  • Niavaran  • Darabad  • Tajrish  • Gheytariyeh  • Chizar  • Ozgol  • Aghdasiyeh  • Elahieh  • Jamshidiyeh  • Saadabad  • Kamraniyeh District 2:  • Farahzad  • Shahrara  • Gisha  • Punak-e    Bahtari  • Saadat Abad  • Sadeghieh  • Shahrak-e Gharb  • Tarasht  • Tohid District 3:  • Darus  • Davoodiyeh  • Ekhtiariyeh  • Golhak  • Vanak  • Jordan District 5:  • Bolvar-e    Ferdowsi  • Jannat Abad  • Ekbatan  • Punak District 6:  • Amir Abad  • Arjantin  • Yousef Abad  • Park-e Laleh Colour revolution The colour revolutions (sometimes coloured revolutions ) were

4859-459: The Iraqi air offensives on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at the time, economic isolation gave yet more reason for many inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and having struggled to adapt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and

4972-503: The U.S. and Canada. I had no idea that even up until the 1950s Jews were discriminated against in North America, so I wanted to explore that further. As an immigrant, I was interested in the history of Jewish immigration from Europe to America. So I looked for a story to combine all these elements and came across the story of the St. Louis. Later, while he was imprisoned in Iran the film "haunted" him, with his interrogators accusing him of being on

5085-544: The United States and its Western democratic partners to advance geopolitical ambitions." According to Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies , Russian military leaders view the "colour revolutions" ( Russian : «цветные революции» , romanized :  tsvetnye revolyutsii ) as a "new US and European approach to warfare that focuses on creating destabilizing revolutions in other states as

5198-596: The Western elites in many world regions more than once" as "methods of such destabilization". He added "But these scenarios have failed to work and I am convinced will never work in Russia, a free, independent and sovereign state." The 2015 presidential decree The Russian Federation's National Security Strategy ( Russian : О Стратегии Национальной Безопасности Российской Федерации ) cites foreign-sponsored regime change among "main threats to public and national security" including:

5311-603: The Westerners. [...] 93.5% voted for the President Lukashenko [sic]. They said it's not a European number. We made it 86. This really happened. And if [one is to] start recounting the votes, I don't know what to do with them. Before the elections they told us that if we showed the European numbers, our elections would be accepted. We were planning to make the European numbers. But, as you can see, this didn't help either." After

5424-477: The absolute majority necessary to avoid a runoff election despite some political sources believing he had earned nearly 55% of the vote. Discrepancies in vote totals and the incineration of election documents by authorities lead the opposition alliance to accuse the government of electoral fraud. Protests erupted in Belgrade, culminating in the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević . The demonstrations were supported by

5537-546: The activities of radical public associations and groups using nationalist and religious extremist ideology, foreign and international non-governmental organizations, and financial and economic structures, and also individuals, focused on destroying the unity and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, destabilizing the domestic political and social situation—including through inciting "color revolutions"—and destroying traditional Russian religious and moral values. In

5650-446: The aftermath of the colour revolutions, the term "colour revolution" has been used as a pejorative term to refer to protests which are believed to be a result of influence by foreign countries. Euromaidan , the 2018 Armenian revolution , the 2019 protests in Georgia , the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests , and the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests have been described by pro-Kremlin outlets as being "colour revolutions" aimed at destabilising

5763-510: The ancient history of Iranian languages such as "Tirgan" theory and "Tahran" theory folk etymology . Another theory is that "Tehran" derives from Tiran/Tirgan, "the abode of Tir ", the Zoroastrian equivalent of Hermes . The ancient Parthian town of Tiran had a neighbour, Mehran ("abode of Mehr/Mithra", the Zoroastrian sun/justice angel). Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of

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5876-540: The assistance of the UNHCR , but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari -speaking Tajik and Hazara , speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mesopotamian Arabic -speakers who are often of Iranian and Persian ethnic heritage. The majority of Tehranis are officially Twelver Shia Muslims , which has also been

5989-545: The background of the mass protests, Putin started his third term amid chaotic circumstances; he responded by becoming markedly more authoritarian, and soon further reduced human rights and civil liberties. At the time it was noted that it was possible that he would rule until 2024 when the next consecutive term limit would take effect, but in fact the constitution was changed in 2020 in controversial circumstances, which allowed him to rule until 2036 without having to step down again as he had in 2008-2012. Boris Nemtsov , one of

6102-437: The book . Doug Saunders of The Globe and Mail called the book "Moving and, at times, very funny", and said that it "offers a number of lessons about the way Middle Eastern politics work." Leslie Scrivener of The Toronto Star explained " Then They Came for Me is a gripping story that weaves his family's history of incarceration by Iranian rulers with his own." Mother Jones magazine wrote that " Then They Came for Me

6215-411: The campaign, In an International Herald Tribune op-ed to launch the campaign Bahari wrote to Iran's Supreme Leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , "You may feel safe in your modest house, protected by thousands of revolutionary guards. But beyond them the world is changing. Iran is changing. In 1978, as the shah was doing his best to stifle his people, Ayatollah Khomeini promised that 'in an Islamic Iran

6328-453: The campaign, and police disrupted his election meetings on numerous occasions whilst also detaining his election agents and confiscating his campaign material. Another opposition candidate, Alyaksandr Kazulin , was beaten up by police and held for several hours, which led to international outrage. The entirety of Belarus media was controlled by Lukashenko's government and the opposition candidates had no access to it or representation on it. In

6441-467: The capital of Tehran province , the city is the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District . With a population of around 9.4 million in the city as of 2018, and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia , the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle East after Cairo , and the 24th most populous metropolitan area in

6554-454: The capital of Iran in 1786. Agha Mohammad Khan's choice of his capital was based on a similar concern for the control of both northern and southern Iran. He was aware of the loyalties of the inhabitants of former capitals Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid and Zand dynasties respectively, and was wary of the power of the local notables in these cities. Thus, he probably viewed Tehran's lack of

6667-420: The case, Russia generally supported the authoritarian Belarusian authorities, with some top-level Russian officials openly declaring their wish for a Lukashenko victory. Analysts noted how it was an aim of Russia to prevent more Georgia or Ukraine-style colour revolutions, and that Russia desired to keep Lukashenko in power to prevent Belarus from turning towards the west. Lukashenko was contentiously declared

6780-478: The city Taheran . English traveler Thomas Herbert entered Tehran in 1627, and mentioned it as Tyroan . Herbert stated that the city had about 3,000 houses. In the early 18th century, Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty ordered a palace and a government office built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital; but he later moved his government to Shiraz . Eventually, Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan chose Tehran as

6893-467: The city, from old to newly built centres, including mosques , churches , synagogues , and Zoroastrian fire temples . The city also has a very small third-generation Indian Sikh community with a local gurdwara that was visited by the Indian Prime Minister , Manmohan Singh in 2012. The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative center. Of

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7006-541: The constitution required but who then said he would retain a key role in politics, leading to fears that there would be no real change in power. The views and actions of the Soviet-trained and Russian-speaking political elite contrasted with the majority of the country's population as a whole, which favoured a more pro-European direction. Also key to the context was the question of relations with Romania , which Moldova had been separated from after Russian occupation under

7119-594: The country in touch with professional Iranian journalists." Although the website is bilingual, only a fraction of the Persian articles are in English. IranWire works with a number of prominent Iranian journalists including Shima Shahrabi , Aida Ghajar , Shaya Goldoust , Ehsan Mehrabi and Masih Alinejad . It has a partnership with Daily Beast . IranWire's initial website was designed and developed by Small Media Foundation , funded by USAID . After his release, Bahari launched

7232-432: The country; a few months later, they spread to hundreds both inside the country and abroad. The protests were described as "Snow Revolution". It derives from December—the month when the revolution had started—and from the white ribbons that the protesters wore. The focus of the protests were the ruling party, United Russia , and Putin. Protests intensified after Putin dubiously won the 2012 Russian presidential election by

7345-676: The course of the 19th century. After 50 years of Qajar rule, the city still barely had more than 80,000 inhabitants. Up until the 1870s, Tehran consisted of a walled citadel, a roofed bazaar , and the three main neighborhoods of Udlajan , Chale-Meydan, and Sangelaj, where the majority resided. During the long reign of Naser al-Din Shah (1848-1896), Tehran witnessed Iran's first institute of higher learning , bank , railway line and museum. The city expanded rapidly through multiple development plans The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized traditional spatial structure. The second, under

7458-463: The early 1980s. After the political, social, and economic consequences of the 1979 Revolution and the years that followed, a number of Iranian citizens, mostly Tehranis, left Iran. The majority of Iranian emigrations have left for the United States , Germany , Sweden , and Canada . With the start of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the second wave of inhabitants fled the city, especially during

7571-571: The epics as the homeland of the protoplast Keyumars , the birthplace of King Manuchehr , the place where King Fereydun bound the dragon fiend Aždahāk (Bivarasp), and the place where Arash shot his arrow. In 641, during the reign of the Sasanian Empire , Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rhages, before fleeing to Khorasan. Rhages was dominated by the Parthian House of Mihran , and Siyavakhsh —the son of Mehran ,

7684-524: The face of Tehran and ambitious projects were planned for the following decades. To resolve the problem of social exclusion , the first comprehensive plan was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and the American firm of Victor Gruen Associates identified the main problems blighting the city as high-density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually,

7797-478: The government's increasing compliance with Russia. One of the key demands of the protests was achieved when a recount of votes in the election was accepted and ordered by president Voronin. Then, in July 2009 a new election was held in which opposition parties won a slight majority of the vote, which was seen as a decisive success for the four pro-Western, pro-European parties. One of the factors believed to have led to

7910-464: The great city of Ray/Rhages. Mehran still exists as a residential district in Greater Tehran, as well as Ray, which forms the southern suburbs of Tehran. The official City of Tehran website says that "Tehran" comes from the Persian words "Tah" meaning "end", or "bottom", and "Ran" meaning "[mountain] slope"—literally, the bottom of the mountain (ته کوه), referring to Tehran's position at the foot of

8023-601: The interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population mainly consisted of Iranians of all classes. The Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages in 1035, and again in 1042, but the city was recovered under the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians . Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before

8136-559: The law and represent a new form of warfare. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in November 2014 that Russia must prevent any colour revolutions in Russia: "We see what tragic consequences the wave of so-called colour revolutions led to. For us, this is a lesson and a warning. We should do everything necessary so that nothing similar ever happens in Russia". In December 2023 Putin stated that "the so-called color revolutions" had "been used by

8249-509: The lead up to the vote, Lukashenko's regime expelled a number of foreign election observers, preventing them from overseeing the vote's standards. The regime also further limited the freedoms of independent and foreign journalists, with it being noted by analysts that Lukashenko was attempting to prevent a repeat of the popular uprisings which had ousted authoritarian governments in the Georgian and Ukrainian colour revolutions. As had previously been

8362-482: The leaders of the protest movement, was later assassinated with the apparent involvement of the Russian security services (and the possible involvement of Putin himself) in 2015. Another of the key leaders, Alexei Navalny , was poisoned in 2020 , apparently by the FSB , and then was imprisoned in a labour colony on charges widely considered politically motivated before dying in suspicious circumstances in 2024 shortly before

8475-512: The legitimate interim government by the European Parliament . As of December 2020, some of the media states that the revolution failed and that Lukashenko managed to prevent a repeat of the Euromaidan . In September 2011, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev , who had ruled for four years in a more liberal direction than his predecessor Vladimir Putin , declared that Putin would run again in

8588-533: The lens of individual experience. Representing a new generation of young Iranian filmmakers, Bahari's trenchant looks at social issues in his country have brought both controversy and international acclaim." Bahari's films have won several awards and nominations including an Emmy in 2005. A retrospective of Bahari's films was organized in November 2007 by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam . In September 2009, Bahari

8701-473: The media will have the freedom to express all Iran's realities and events.' Hoping they could realize that promise, Iranians rose up and overthrew the shah. Ayatollah Khamenei, those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it." Bahari launched IranWire in 2014, "to empower Iranian citizen journalists by creating a forum in which young Iranians can discuss national and local news, providing training modules and putting Iranian citizen journalists inside

8814-513: The monarchy remained in Tehran. After World War I , the constituent assembly elected Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches to governance and planning. From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Several old buildings, including parts of

8927-465: The morning of June 21, 2009, during the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests , Bahari was arrested at his family's home in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison . In July, while incarcerated, he appeared in a televised confession (broadcast internationally by PressTV ) telling his interviewer that Western journalists worked as spies; that he had covered "illegal demonstrations" and "illegal gatherings", and

9040-610: The opposition victory was the anger at the way the communist government had handled the April protests. The deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Party stated that "Democracy has won". The opposition alliance (the Alliance for European Integration ) created a governing coalition that pushed the Communist party into opposition. By March 2006, authoritarian and pro-Russian president Alexander Lukashenko had ruled Belarus for twelve years, and

9153-428: The overall unfairness to Mr Bahari in the item broadcast". Ofcom added that filming and broadcasting the interview without consent "while he was in a sensitive situation and vulnerable state was an unwarranted infringement of Mr Bahari's privacy". Upon the release of Ofcom's findings, Press TV launched a campaign against Bahari and Ofcom. Bahari was accused of being "an MI6 contact person". Press TV's failure to pay

9266-578: The parliament passed a law on local governance known as the Baladie ( municipal law ), providing a detailed outline of issues such as the role of councils within the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. The then-Qajar monarch Mohammad Ali Shah abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament with the help of the Russian-controlled Cossack Brigade on June 23, 1908. That

9379-525: The planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socioeconomic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah named the White Revolution , Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran developed rapidly under Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered

9492-404: The protests by claiming foreign involvement of Romania, but little evidence existed which suggested this was the case. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people joined protests on 6 and 7 April 2009 in the capital city of Chișinău . Some of the chants protesters were heard to say were "We want Europe", "We are Romanians" and "Down with Communism". With social media playing a role in the organisation of

9605-425: The protests, the internet was cut off in the capital by the government, and president Voronin declared the protesters to be "fascists intoxicated with hatred". Voronin's reaction to the protests were subject to criticism; he utilised the secret police, oversaw mass arrests, sealed the country's borders and censored media, leading to comparisons to Stalinist methods of communist repression. Amnesty International and

9718-500: The respective governments of each country. Motivated in part by its desire to prevent colour revolutions, in 2009 China banned YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. The 2015 policy white paper "China's Military Strategy" ( 中国的军事战略 ) by the State Council Information Office said that "anti-China forces have never given up their attempt to instigate a 'color revolution' in this country." In 2018, General Secretary of

9831-428: The same base and suffix and studied the components of the word in ancient Iranian languages , and came to the conclusion that Tehran and Kehran meant the same thing in different Iranian language families, as the constant "t" and "k" are close to each other in such languages. He also provided evidence that cities named "Shemiran" were colder than those named "Tehran" or "Kehran". He considered other theories not considering

9944-486: The second-largest ethnic group of the city, comprising about 10-15% of the total population, while ethnic Mazanderanis are the third-largest, comprising about 5% of the total population. Tehran's other ethnic communities include Kurds , Armenians , Georgians , Bakhtyaris , Talysh , Baloch , Assyrians , Arabs , Jews , and Circassians . According to a 2010 census conducted by the Sociology Department of

10057-472: The son of Bahram Chobin —who resisted the seventh-century Muslim invasion of Iran . Because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rhages, they ordered the town destroyed and rebuilt anew by traitor aristocrat Farrukhzad . In the ninth century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less so than the city of Rhages, flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by tenth-century Muslim geographers. Despite

10170-414: The southwest of the country bordering Iraq . The unstable situation and the war in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in millions, with Tehran being a magnet for many seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for a far lower pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with

10283-685: The state religion since the 16th-century Safavid conversion . Other religious communities in the city include followers of the Sunni and Mystic branches of Islam, various Christian denominations, Judaism , Zoroastrianism , and the Baháʼí Faith . In the 2016 "Tehran Survey", when residents of Tehran were asked about the importance of religion in their life, 53.5% considered it to be "very important / important", 31.1% to be "rather important", 10.5% to be "not very important" and 4.8% to be "not at all important." There are many religious centres scattered around

10396-522: The supervision of Dar ol Fonun in 1878, included new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, mimicking the Renaissance cities of Europe. Tehran was 19.79 square kilometers, and had expanded more than fourfold. Growing awareness of civil rights resulted in the Constitutional Revolution and the first constitution of Iran in 1906. On June 2, 1907,

10509-515: The time of the Median Empire , part of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages ( Old Persian : 𐎼𐎥𐎠 Ragā ). In the Avesta 's Videvdat (i, 15), Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd . In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province ( Bistun 2, 10–18). From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes , who

10622-399: The upcoming presidential election. Putin had previously had to step down and make way for Medvedev to become president in 2008 due to limits on consecutive presidential terms, but the plans for his return were now made public. However, many Russians appeared to find the choreographed move to allow Medvedev and Putin to simply swap positions brazen and displeasing. In November, Putin suffered

10735-480: The urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks. During World War II , Soviet and British troops entered the city. In 1943, Tehran was the site of the Tehran Conference , attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin , and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill . The establishment of

10848-557: The use of the internet as a method of communication, as well as a strong role of non-governmental organizations in the protests. Some of these movements have been successful in their goal of removing the government, such as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 's Bulldozer Revolution (2000), Georgia 's Rose Revolution (2003), Ukraine 's Orange Revolution (2004), Kyrgyzstan 's Tulip Revolution (2005) and Armenia 's Velvet Revolution (2018). They have been described by political scientists Valerie Jane Bunce and Seva Gunitsky as

10961-568: The whole plan was marginalized by the 1979 Revolution and the subsequent Iran–Iraq War . Tehran's most famous landmark, the Azadi Tower, was built by the order of the Shah in 1971. It was designed by Hossein Amanat , an architect whose design won a competition, combining elements of classical Sassanian architecture with post-classical Iranian architecture. Formerly known as the Shahyad Tower , it

11074-506: The winner of the election, with official results granting him 83% of the vote. International monitors severely criticised the legitimacy of the poll. The opposition and Milinkevich immediately called for protests. Immediately after the official results were announced, 30,000 protested in the capital of Minsk . CBS News said that this alone was "an enormous turnout in a country where police usually suppress unauthorized gatherings swiftly and brutally". Thousands of protestors then maintained

11187-445: The world. Greater Tehran includes several municipalities, including, Karaj , Andisheh , Eslamshahr , Pakdasht , Qods , and Shahriar . In the classical antiquity , part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages (now Ray ), a prominent Median city almost entirely destroyed in the medieval Arab , Turkic , and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray was absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Tehran

11300-402: The youth movement Otpor! , some of whose members were later involved in revolutions in other countries. These demonstrations are usually considered to be the first example of the peaceful revolutions that followed in former Soviet states. Despite the nationwide protesters not adopting a colour or a specific symbol, the slogan " Gotov je " ( Serbian Cyrillic : Готов је , lit.   'He

11413-438: Was after Lukashenko was declared the winner of the disputed 2006 presidential election that mass protests began against his rule. The main challenger to Lukashenko in the election was Alexander Milinkevich , who advocated liberal democratic values and who was supported by a coalition of the major opposition parties. International observers noted intimidation and harassment of opposition campaigners including Milinkevich during

11526-424: Was aiming for a third term after term limits were cancelled by a dubious referendum in 2004 that was judged to not be free and fair internationally. Lukashenko had faced widespread international criticism for crushing dissent, neglecting human rights and restricting civil society. By this point the Belarus parliament did not contain any opposition members and acted as a "rubber stamp" parliament . Subsequently, it

11639-406: Was also poisoned in 2019, having been trailed by the same FSB agents who poisoned Navalny in 2020. International geopolitics scholars Paul J. Bolt and Sharyl N. Cross state that "Moscow and Beijing share almost indistinguishable views on the potential domestic and international security threats posed by colored revolutions, and both nations view these revolutionary movements as being orchestrated by

11752-576: Was among many protesters arrested as they attempted to march on a jail where many of the democracy activists taken from the tent camp had been imprisoned. In total there were 40,000 protestors. The opposition originally used as a symbol the white-red-white flag of Belarus prior to 1995; the movement has had significant connections with that in neighbouring Ukraine. During the Orange Revolution, some white-red-white flags were seen being waved in Kyiv. During

11865-482: Was built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Imperial State of Iran . During the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 to 1988, Tehran was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes and Scud missile attacks. The 435-meter-high Milad Tower, one of the proposed development projects of pre-revolutionary Iran, was completed in 2007, and has become a famous landmark of Tehran. Tabiat Bridge, a 270-meter pedestrian overpass that

11978-418: Was designed by award-winning architect Leila Araghian , was completed in 2014. The city of Tehran had a population of 7,711,230 in 2,286,787 households at the time of the 2006 National Census. The following census in 2011 counted 8,154,051 people in 2,624,511 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 8,693,706 people in 2,911,065 households. With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran

12091-440: Was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished and replaced by wide straight avenues, and the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts in major public spaces such as the bazaar. As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through

12204-602: Was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1786, because of its proximity to Iran's territories in the Caucasus , then separated from Iran in the Russo-Iranian Wars , to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout history, however, and Tehran became the 32nd capital of Persia . Large-scale construction works began in

12317-424: Was followed by the capture of the city by the revolutionary forces of Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July 13, 1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced by his son Ahmad , and the parliament was re-established. During the Persian campaign , Russian forces that were occupying the northwest of Iran marched around Qazvin and approached Tehran, caused

12430-663: Was helping promote a " colour revolution ". His confession was dismissed by his family, his colleagues, and Reporters Without Borders , saying that it must have come under duress. Outside Iran, an international campaign to free him was headed by his wife and included petitions launched by Committee to Protect Journalists , Index on Censorship , International PEN , and groups of documentary filmmakers. Newsweek ran full-page advertisements in several major newspapers calling for his release. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke publicly of his case. On October 17, after 118 days in jail and charged with 11 counts of espionage, Bahari

12543-451: Was nominated by Desmond Tutu for the Prince of Asturias Award for Concord, widely known as Spain's Nobel Prize . In 2020, US Holocaust Memorial Museum conferred its highest honor Elie Wiesel Award on Bahari for his exceptional courage in bringing the truth of the Holocaust to Iran and throughout the Middle East. The Museum praised Bahari for being a powerful voice against antisemitism. On

12656-591: Was putting down a rebellion in Parthia (Bistun 3, 1–10). Some Middle Persian texts give Rhages as the birthplace of Zoroaster , although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan Province . Mount Damavand , the highest peak of Iran, which is located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsi 's Šāhnāme , an Iranian epic poem based on the ancient legends of Iran . It appears in

12769-501: Was released on $ 300,000 bail. Bahari says he was asked to promise to spy on dozens of "anti-revolutionary elements" inside and outside Iran for the Revolutionary Guard and report to them weekly (a promise that he had no intention of keeping). He was allowed to leave the country and return to London days before the birth of his daughter. After his release, Bahari recounted his time in prison in interviews and writings. He appeared on

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