In 1912, the Persian state had never been so weak. The suspension, for the second time, of the Constitution and the occupation of northern Iran by Russian troops plunged the country into a situation that was diametrically opposed to what it had known in 1906, when the Shah, in his famous edict, had convened the first Parliament and responded to the desires of the demonstrators. The state was deprived of an efficient government, devoid of financial means, without an army, and being drained off by politicians who passively admired the progress of Europe, many of whom were idle and wealthy aristocrats behaving as parasites.