mountain roads, the swift-flowing streams, the dense forests, and the
coastal desert around Baku all put the Russians at a disadvantage.
They moved much more slowly than they had expected they would;
the cavalry could not operate; and the supply-laden carts had to be
left behind at Derbent. The supply problem was magnified by the
fact that the deliveries to the expedition were in a shambles. The of-
ficials in St. Petersburg who should have organized supply delivery
did nothing.^28 The delivery of such emergency supplies as could be
gathered was impeded by the difficulty of the terrain, the shortage
of pack animals, and the small size of Russia's Caspian fleet (even
when it was supplemented by merchant ships, the fleet was inade-
quate). Gudovich's obstructionism added to the problem, and Zubov's
excessive optimism made matters still worse. Although in most cases
he observed the guidelines set by Catherine, Zubov disobeyed her
when he selected his main supply delivery point. Catherine wanted
Baku, but Zubov was so confident that he would sweep quickly
through the Caucasus and proceed to the Iranian plateau that he had
most of the supplies that could be gathered sent to an island further
south off the Talesh coast. Therefore, most of the supplies were be-
yond his reach. The use of local fruits to make up for the shortage
of expected rations made many of the soldiers ill.
In the end, all the miscalculations and difficulties left Zubov in a
strategically weak position, with his forces strung out along the edge
of the battle zone from Derbent to the confluence of the Aras and
the Kura. The second branch of the Russian forces was split between
Georgia, which was too exhausted by the 1795 attack and too dis-
unified by internal hostilities to be capable of defending itself, and
Ganjeh, which was of doubtful loyalty to Russia. For want of ships
and men, Zubov was not able to make a diversionary attack on Gilan
as he had intended. He also relied on the cooperation of the khans
who had submitted to Russia but whose desire as well as their ability
to fight the shah was questionable. Zubov was saved from a confron-
tation with Aqa Mohammad by his benefactress's death on Novem-
ber 17. Paul, the new tsar, halted the expedition the day after Cath-
erine's death. Russian troops were out of the Caucasus by the spring
of 1797, weeks before Aqa Mohammad's return.
Russian expansionists drew several important lessons from Cath-
erine's involvement in Iranian affairs. The first was that such involve-
ment was desireable. Much of the support for this belief came from
intellectual trends that were stimulated by the westernization of the
Russian elite, many of whom saw their country as the equal of the
great Western powers. Russia was powerful not only militarily but
42 Russian Expansion under Catherine the Great