In 1856, Russia was defeated in the Crimean War by the coalition of British, French and Ottoman forces, which altered the direction of Russian expansion from Europe to Central Asia.

In 1869, Russia marked its presence in the south-east coast of the Caspian sea by founding a naval base in Krasnovodsk (present-day Turkmenbashy, Turkmenistan) and fortifying it.

[1] Subsequently, Russian diplomats in Tehran assured the Persian court that Russia recognized Iran's border along the entire length of Atrek river and did not contemplate to establish military bases there.

[2] Naser al-Din Shah Qajar sent foreign secretary Mirza Saeed Khan Ansari to meet Russian envoy Ivan Zinovyev [ru] and sign a treaty in Tehran.

[5] The title of the treaty is derived from the name of the region north of Kopet Dag mountains in Khorasan where the Turkmen tribe of Tekke lived – Akhal.