1923. Curzon's ultimatum

95 years ago, on May 8, 1923, the British government sent a note to the Soviet government drawn up by Foreign Minister Lord George Nathaniel Curzon. It contained a demand within 10 days to stop the anti-British subversive activities of Soviet institutions in Iran and Afghanistan, as well as religious persecution in the Soviet Union, to release English fishing trawlers detained by the Soviet border guard, and also to pay compensation for the execution of several British subjects.

On May 11, Moscow rejected Curzon's ultimatum and organized mass demonstrations against him. However, on May 23, the main demands of London were accepted. The USSR agreed to conclude a convention with England granting British citizens the right to fish in Soviet waters outside the three-mile maritime zone, as well as to pay compensation for confiscated English fishing boats and for the arrests and executions of British citizens, but with the proviso that this does not at all mean an admission of error. repressive measures.