Talyshstan
National Republic of Talyshstan | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Capital | Astrahan-Bazar |
| Official languages | Talysh |
| Recognised regional languages | Tabari Russian Armenian Azerbaijani Georgian |
| Demonym | Talyshistani |
| Government | National Republic |
| Establishment | 1981 |
• Declaration of Independence | 1981 |
• Treaty of Salyan | 1981 |
| Today part of | Persia (De-Jure) |
Talyshstan, officially the National Republic of Talyshstan is a partially-recognized nation in Western Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and Persia to the south and west. Though internationally recognized as part of Persia, Talyshtan retains autonomous control over a narrow strip of land bordering the Caspian sea and bounded by the Talysh mountains. Its capital and largest city is Astrahan-Bazar.
History
Perso - Tabari War (1980-1981)
Following a series of economic shocks, the National Republic of Tabarestan would experience an uneven period of growth under the reformist Chairman Komeil Baboli. Conversely, Persia, who had long seen the independence of Tabarestan as a national humiliation, had wielded a modernized army in several critical military victories such as the Muhammaran War and the establishment of the Emirate of Turan. These victories inflamed nationalist sentiments within the Persian army, with an increasingly belligerent faction among the armed forces preaching the immediate invasion of the nation to correct its secession during the Russo-Persian War.
In the spring of 1980, Persian intelligence would link up with discontented conservatives in the southern regions of Tabarestan and stoke a belief that their culture and traditions would be better protected by their brothers to the south than by the sclerotic and exploitative grasp of Russia, who had recently experienced a period of national unrest known as the Russian Lustrum. After a few months of debate, Persia would declare war on Tabarestan on the 20th of October, 1980.
As the Tabari capital of Rasht fell to Persian invasion in January of 1981, much of the remaining loyalist Tabari army joined the forces of Inaq Khan Muzaffar, a millitary veteran and native of the Talysh city of Astrahan-Bazar, who ordered a retreat west into the Talysh mountain to evade pursuit by the victorious Persian forces. In the course of the march, the remnant government of Tabarestan would win several victories in skirmishes with the Persians, enabling the escape of crucial military assets to the region of Talyshstan. On the 5th of April 1981, the ‘’Independent Provisional Government of the Tabari National Republic in Talyshstan” would be declared, whose armed forces, bolstered by Russian aid, would lead a rout of the Persians at the battle of Massali. The treaty of Salyan, signed in late 1981, would see the ten-year stationing of Russian forces along the border with Persia, as well as ensuring the recognition of the newly renamed ''National Republic of Talyshstan'' amongst the reformist faction of the International Republican Coalition. The Persians harshly contested this treaty, but pulled their forces out of the region, marking the start of a frozen conflict.
