I have read
Dr. Kaveh Farrokh-The 300 Movie: Separating Fact from Fiction
Rasht was occupied by Russians.
"The city has been occupied by the Russians several times in its history, most ruinously in 1668 when almost the whole population was massacred by the rebel forces of the Cossack brigand Stenka Razin, who had already destroyed the Persian Navy in the Caspian Sea, and whose sole aims in life appear to have been rape and pillage. During WWI the city was again occupied by Russians, and in 1920 Bolsheviks destroyed much of the bazaar, driving many of the inhabitants into temporary exile."
SalamIran.org - Rasht, in the province of Gilan
I don't know if the Russians left any trace in Gilan. Nevertheless the girl from Rasht on that page has a look I associate with ethnic Russians. Perhaps it's some older relation as I've seen pictures of similar Afghans too.
