Every summary I’ve read of the Russo-Persian wars notes that the latter held the numerical advantage (particularly since the former were busy fighting the Ottomans & Napoleon), but the former won because of their better technology. These summaries never say what that better technology was. This is well after the Safavid “gunpowder empire” so it’s not like they didn’t both have firearms. I know the Russians would later have a disadvantage against the faster rate of fire of rifles used by the Ottomans (including repeating Winchester lever-actions) during the siege of Plevna (although they still ultimately won that war). I haven’t heard something comparable specific for the wars with Persia.
I have previously discussed Tsarist expansion in my reviews of For Prophet and Tsar as well as East of the Sun, the latter of which had some erroneous claims about the advantages Europeans derived from their firearms. I had already asked for a good history of Russian expansion back during the GWB administration. I had commenters back then who could actually recommend such books, whereas now I blog less and so much has moved to social media. Out of spite for that trend I will continue not cross-posting blog entries to twitter.
Entitled to an Opinion 
May 29, 2021 at 11:11 pm
I don’t have the facts to hand to confirm this either way, but to me a reasonable hypothesis, worth enquiring into, is that Russia had a considerable advantage in logistics. Russia had water transport to all theatres, or to their outskirts (Volga and Caspian Sea, etc.) and was well enough organised to use that to support animal draught transport over the “sea of grass” that reached areas further east (mind you, that took several tries to get right when Russia moved against the Aral Sea basin, later on and further east).
But I don’t know that those are truly “technological” issues. Rather, after Russia took Astrakhan – generations earlier – the water corridors could be used by Russia against Persia far more readily than the other way around.
Now, if the Germans had reached the Volga geared up to use the Caspian and lower Volga, they could have sidelined Stalingrad and still destroyed the Soviet forces’ fuel access… But they even had trouble getting E-boats on the Black Sea.
May 30, 2021 at 7:42 am
The whole Black Sea naval campaign is new to me, as I typically just hear about western navies in the Atlantic/Pacific. I expect the fact that the UK wasn’t involved in the Russo-Persian wars (unlike the Napoleonic ones) plays a role in my ignorance.
July 16, 2023 at 3:55 pm
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