Russian Muslims’ Pilgrimages to Makkah

in the Early Twentieh-Century

Dr. Serguei E. Grigoriev

The celebration of the Centennial of the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1999 was considered by its subjects, by all the Muslims of the world, and by those who are interested in the history and culture of this state as one of the most significant and memorable events of the year.

Thanks to God’s will the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the home and the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. All the Kings of the country, beginning with the founder and architect of the state, His Majesty the late King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, and after him His Majesty the late King Saud, His Majesty the late King Faisal, His Majesty the late King Khaled and the present head of state and leader of Saudi Arabia, His Majesty King Fahd, have taken thorough care of and are now the vigilant guardians of the Holy Places of Hejaz – Makkah al-Mukarrama, the Honoured, and al-Madinah al-Munawara, the Radiant. Their Majesties have long been looking after the Pilgrims (al-Hujaj), and attend comprehensively to the needs of all Hujaj coming every year to these cities for the Holy hajj, a sacred duty for all the Muslims of the world. The state of Saudi Arabia, headed by His Majesty King Fahd, does its best to secure the Pilgrims’ welfare and appropriate services for them during their stay there. Much has been done by His Majesty King Fahd to facilitate the process of Holy Hajj for the numerous pilgrims coming to Saudi Arabia from Russia. All Russian Muslims and Muslims from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were greatly impressed by the honourable and magnanimous decision of His Majesty King Fahd to pay their expenses during the Hajj of the year 1998.

As is well known, Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every Muslim has to perform it at least once in his or her lifetime. The pilgrimage takes place between the seventh and the thirteenth days of the month Dhu’l-Hijjah, the last month of the Muslim calendar. Every year millions of pilgrims come to the Holy Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram, whose sanctuary surrounds al-Ka’ba) in Makkah al-Mukarrama from all the countries of the world, thus forming the largest annual assembly of people on Earth. Hajj is a holy duty for all Muslims, a means of acknowledgment of the might and oneness of God, and is a form of religious, social and cultural bonding between Muslims coming from every side to the Holy Places of Hejaz. Makkah al-Mukarrama at the time of Holy Hajj is the only place in the world where one can see people who have come from all the countries of the world where the followers of Holy Islam live praying, making tawaf (the ritual circumnambulation of the Ka’ba), halting at the Stone of Abraham (makam Ibrahim), drinking water from the holy well of Zamzam, marching between Safa, Marwah and ‘Arafat, casting stones at the devil in Mina, making sacrifice and so forth. Makkah al-Mukarrama is the place where they can meet each other, associate with each other and understand in their hearts the simple and true fact that Holy Islam unites them all into one great, dynamic and steadily growing society. Makkah al-Mukarrama is the place where leaders of Islamic countries and states can meet at the time of Holy Hajj. They can discuss the various problems facing their countries and the world of Islam as a whole. This Holy City is a sacred place for all Muslims, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him). It is the place where the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Him, and through Him to the whole of mankind. It is the real and spiritual capital of the Muslim world. It is a meeting-place where all the questions and problems of the Muslim world can be freely talked about, discussed and solved.

It is very difficult to write about Holy Hajj itself, as all its aspects are already totally and completely envisaged in the Qur’an, and the procedure of Holy Hajj and its sequence and details are described in full and entirely in the Holy Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad – (Peace be upon Him), while many leading Muslim scholars, scientists and ‘Ulama have studied and analysed every aspect of this pillar of Holy Islam.

We can find information concerning the hajj and descriptions of Makkah al-Mukarrama in books written by many Arabian scholars; however, owing to the fact that we are about to deal with the information on the hajj that is to be found in the Russian state archives and in Russian periodicals we shall not here draw your attention to written historical sources in the Arabic language.

A certain number of Europeans who have converted to Holy Islam have made hajj and became hajjis. Some of them wrote reports about it. Their impressions of Makkah al-Mukarrama and the various aspects of life in this holy city, its environs and its suburbs can be found in their reminiscences, published in various countries, some of them in Europe. I may mention among them the following travellers and scientists. First, there was Ludovico Di Varthema (of Italian origin), who came to Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara at the beginning of the sixteenth century. His report of his journey through the territory of modern Saudi Arabia was published in Italy, France and England (L. Di Varthema, Travels, translated by B. Badger, London, 1863 (Hakluyt Series)). Then there was Johan Wilden – a German from Nuremberg who visited Makkah al-Mukarrama in the seventeenth century. He served in the Hungarian army and was taken prisoner by the Turks in 1604. J. Wilden later converted to Holy Islam and together with his Turkish master made hajj in 1611. He published a book about his travels in Hejaz, comprising a description of Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara (Johan Wilden, Neu Reysebeschreibung eines gefangenen Christen … welche sich 1604 angefangen und 1611 ihr End genommen, Nuremberg, 1613 and 1623). An Englishman named Joseph Pitts visited Makkah al-Mukarrama at the end of the seventeenth century. Earlier he had been taken prisoner by Algerian pirates and had converted to Holy Islam. He published a report of his journey in Arabia, including a detailed description of Makkah al-Mukarrama and the hajj itself, in 1704 (Joseph Pitts, A Truthful Account of the Religion and Manners of the Mahometans, Exeter, 1704). Ulrikh Caspar Seetzen – a German Orientalist – visited Makkah al-Mukarrama at the beginning of the nineteenth century. He wrote a number of books and articles concerning his voyages and wanderings in Arabia. The majority of his recollections and memoirs were published at the beginning of the nineteenth century in the French journal Annales des Voyages and later in Germany. Johan Ludwig Burckhardt – a famous Swiss traveller and Orientalist – visited Makkah al-Mukarrama in 1814. His impressions of his visit to this city were published later in both London and Paris (J. L. Burckhardt, Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabis, London; L. Burckhardt, Voyages en Arabie … suivis de Notes sur les Bedouins et d’un essai sur l’histoire des Wahhabites, Paris, 1835). Domingo Badiay Leyblich – a Spaniard from the city of Cadiz – came to Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara at the beginning of the nineteenth century under the guise of a certain Muslim named ‘Ali Bey al-‘Abba-si. He published a report of his journey in 1814 in Paris and in 1816 in London (Ali Bey, Voyages, Paris. 1814; Ali Bey, Travels, London, 1816). ‘Abd al-Karim – a Kashmiri by origin (the principality of Kashmir is nowadays situated in the north-western part of India and the north-eastern part of Pakistan) made hajj at the end of the eighteenth century. He spent three months at Makkah al-Mukarrama. On returning home, ‘Abd al-Karim wrote a book about his journey. It is based on the works of C. Niebuhr, a famous Danish Orientalist of the second half of the eighteenth century, on some other European historical sources, and on his own impressions of this journey (Abdul Kerym, Voyage de l’Inde a la Mekke, Paris, 1797). Georg August Wallin, a scientist from Finland (at that time a part of the Russian Empire) in the forties of the nineteenth century visited Hejaz and Nejd. He was a Professor of Helsingfors University (Helsingfors is now Helsinki, the capital of Finland). Georg Wallin wrote many scientific articles and books about his journey. The report of his expedition, containing his description of Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara, was published in London in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1854 (G. A. Wallin, ‘Narrative of a Journey from Cairo to Medina and Mecca by Suez, Acaba, Tawila, al-Yauf, Jubbe, Hail and Nejd in 1845’,. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Vol. 24, London, 1854). A French traveller, M. Tamisier, at exactly the same time crossed the territories of ‘Asir and Hejaz. He published a report of his travels later (M. Tamisier, Voyage en Arabie. Séjour dans le Hidjaz. Campagne d’Assir, Vols. 1–2, Paris, 1940).

An Englishman, R. F. Burton, visited Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara in 1853. He wrote a book about his voyage, which was later translated into French, German and other European languages. The memoirs of R. F. Burton are still considered by many scholars to be among the best descriptions of the holy hajj and the two holy cities of Hejaz ever made by a European (Sir R. F. Burton, A Pilgrimage to al-Madinah and Meccah, London, 1885; Sir R. F. Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to al-Madinah and Meccah, Vols 1–2, London, 1893). A Frenchman, Charles Didier, visited Makkah al-Mukarrama in 1854. He published a book about his meetings and negotiations with the Sharif of Makkah al-Mukarrama (Ch. Didier, Séjour chez le grand-chérif de la Mekke, Paris, 1857). This book contains important information concerning the relations between the Arabs and the Ottoman Empire and the then political and economic situation in the Hejaz, and description of Makkah al-Mukarrama. An English traveller and archaeologist, Charles Doughty, visited the Hejaz in the seventies of the nineteenth century. His book about his wanderings contains a fine description of the outskirts of these two holy cities (Charles Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta, Vols 1–2, Cambridge, 1888). In 1877–8 Makkah al-Mukarrama was visited by another Englishman – John S. Keane, who published a report about his life there (John S. Keane, Six Months in the Hedjaz, London, 1887). In the second half of the nineteenth century Makkah al-Mukarrama was visited by Snouck Hurgronje. He issued a book (supplied with photographs and maps) about this holy city too (J. Snouck Hurgronje, Mekka, The Hague, 1888). An English scientist, Eldon Rutter, published a detailed description of Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara (Eldon Rutter, Holy Cities of Arabia, London, 1928). A full list of the Europeans who visited Makkah al-Mukarrama at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries can be found in the book dedicated to the origin and development of the Wahhabi trend of Islam written by a Russian scientist, A. M. Vasiliev.¹

Many Western European, American and Russian Orientalists have studied the process of the holy hajj from the religious, historical, cultural, economic and other points of view. The territory of Hejaz and the two holy cities of Islam – Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara – were studied by the Orientalists and by travellers as well. The list of the names of the scholars who dedicated their lives to researches in this field is too long to be recited here.² Nevertheless, many scientists and scholars from Western European, North American and sometimes Muslim states who were and are engaged in the study of the holy hajj, Hejaz and the two holy cities don’t as a rule take into account books and articles on these topics written by Russian scholars. Historical materials from Russia concerning these issues often remain unknown beyond Russia’s own borders. The same is also true in respect of the numerous historical documents containing information about the holy hajj that are kept in the various State Archives of the Russian Federation. There were many causes for the existence of such an anomalous state of affairs at an earlier date. The Cold War and the so-called ‘Iron Curtain’ hampered the establishment and development of contacts – including scientific contacts – between Russia, the countries of the Muslim world, and Western European and North American states. The inaccessibility to foreign scholars and Orientalists of the bulk of the Russian State Archives aggravated this position. A relatively low level of dissemination of the Russian language outside Russia and the states of the former USSR made many scholarly books and articles published there (unless they were translated into the Arabic, English, French or German languages) inaccessible to foreign scholars. However, one of the main reasons why the works of Russian scholars on the holy hajj were unknown to the outer world was the fact that, although Russian scholars have written many books and articles about Islam as a whole, and about its predominant and all-embracing influence upon the states, economic structures, histories, and cultures and upon all aspects of the lives of the peoples of the Middle East, there were rather fewer articles dedicated to the holy hajj as such.³

Some propagandistic articles about Islam were published in the journals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR, but these articles were written in the traditional Communist style and are barely worth mentioning, as although the holy hajj was in some sense discussed in these publications, their authors were not pursuing religious or scientific goals. Only after the fall of Communism in Russia did there appear a number of articles dedicated to the holy hajj. Some of these were published outside Russia.⁴ A number of books on the problems of the history of the various religions in Russia and books dedicated specifically to Islam in Russia touched in some way upon the hajj.⁵

The Russian Empire at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries was a multiconfessional and multinational state. Islam was the third biggest confession in Russia. The total number of Muslims living in the Russian Empire itself and in the Emirate of Bukhara and the Khanate of Khiva – Russia’s Muslim client states in Central Asia – amounted to more than 19 million people (15 per cent of the overall population of the Empire). So Russia was then (and still is now) among the biggest Muslim states in the world, if we reckon by the number of followers of Islam that it contains. The majority of the Muslims of the Russian Empire lived in Central Asia, the Crimean peninsula, the Caucasus and Transcaucasus regions, the basins of the Volga and Kama rivers, and the southern provinces of Siberia and the Urals.

The inclusion of the former Central Asian states – the Bukhara Emirate, the Khiva and Kokand Khanates and the domains of the Turkoman tribes – within the Russian Empire or Russia’s sphere of influence greatly increased the number of Russian Muslims in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Russian Muslims were endowed with the right freely to confess Holy Islam. They built new mosques; printed the Holy al-Qur’an al-Karim and books on Islam and Islamic law and culture; educated their children in an Islamic way; and fulfilled openly all their religious duties, including that of the holy hajj. The Ulama were not appointed by the Russian State. They were elected, as elsewhere in the Muslim world, by the members of the local Muslim communities. The Ulama served as registrars of the births, weddings and deaths of members of the Muslim communities. The Russian authorities of the territories where Muslims lived did not intrude into their internal affairs. The Muslims had their own judicial and educational systems, based on the principles of Holy Islam. Many aspects of their life were not controlled by the officials of the Russian Empire. Muslims from the Central Asian domains of the Russian Empire were not drafted into the Russian army.

The social elite of the Muslim peoples of the Russian Empire was deeply involved in its ruling political, economic and cultural establishment. Russian Muslims were in many cases among the noblest, most influential and richest people in the Empire. The elite of the Russian Muslims often determined the political, economic and cultural future of the state. Many Russian ministers, famous generals and officers, merchants, entrepreneurs and intellectuals were Muslims by creed and origin. Some Russian Muslims (the Princes Yusupov among others) had matrimonial ties with the Romanovs, the ruling dynasty of the Russian Empire.

Russia, being a country situated in both Europe and Asia, had had close ties with the states, countries and peoples of the Middle East since ancient times. Russians visited the Middle Eastern countries for a variety of reasons – religious, political, commercial, scientific, cultural and so forth. Scholars from Russia studied the history, culture and language of the Arab countries.

The territory of the modern Saudi Arabia – the Custodian and the Caretaker of the two Holy Mosques – is situated far away from Russia. The Hejaz at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries was a province of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey had complicated and sometimes tensed political relations with Russia at that time (there had been several wars in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries between the Russian and Ottoman Empires). As a result of this, the Hejaz was not often visited by people from Russia for political, commercial or scientific reasons. The Turkish authorities in the Hejaz, whose influence was in reality limited only to the big cities – Jeddah, Yanbo’, Makkah al-Mukarrama, al-Madinah al-Munawara, al-Ta’if and others (Turkish garrisons were stationed in these places) – were very suspicious towards people from Russia.

However, in spite of the fact that the Turkish authorities displayed such an attitude towards the Russians, some scientists, naturalists and travellers from that country managed to come to this part of the Middle East. Among them we might mention the Russian counts Abamelek-Nazarov, A. Stroganov, and A. G. Scherbatov, who were specialists in horse-racing. They visited the northern parts of modern Saudi Arabia with the purpose of improving the Russian breed of horse by purchasing Arab horses from there and sending them to Russia. The Finnish scientist G. A. Wallin (Finland was a part of the Russian Empire at that time) travelled in the Hejaz and ‘Asir. And at the end of the nineteenth century the Russian officer Davletshin, a Bashkir by birth (the Bashkirs are a Muslim tribe of Turkish origin living in the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire), came to Hejaz and visited Holy Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara. On his return to Russia he wrote a book about his journey.⁶

None the less, thousands of people from Russia came to the territories of modern Saudi Arabia every year. They were not scientists or travelers, however. They streamed to the Hejaz in order to fulfil one of the main duties incumbent on every faithful Muslim. They wanted to make the holy hajj, to see the Two Holy Mosques, to breathe the holy air of al-Haramein and to drink the holy water from the well of Zamzam in Makkah al-Mukarrama. They were pilgrims – hajjis descending from all the different parts of the vast Russian Empire. They were making a long and sometimes dangerous journey that lasted for several months. The only goals and objects of their trip were Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara.

The quantity of hajjis who came to the Hejaz from the Russian Empire was growing steadily at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. There were many reasons for such positive changes. The increasing number of Muslims in Russia, the growing influence of Islam there, the improvement of the standard of living of the Russian Muslims, the establishment of direct passenger steamship lines between the ports of Russia and Jeddah and Yanbo’ (the sea gates of Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara) – all these factors promoted a significant increase in the quantity of Russian pilgrims going to al-Haramein. As a result of these rapid changes many Russian state institutes and establishments, private companies, associations, foundations, Muslim societies and communities and mosques, newspapers, magazines and journals were involved in the process of organizing, transporting, providing for, protecting and supporting the Russian hajjis. Many different documents concerning Russian hajjis are kept in various Russian State Archives. St Petersburg, in the north-west of Russia, was the capital of the Russian Empire from 1703 to 1918. It was and is the home of many State historical archives, containing a variety of documents concerning Russian hajjis.

As I have mentioned before, approximately 15 per cent of the population of the Russian Empire was Muslim at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The majority of Russian Muslims were spread over the vast territories of the southern, south-western and central provinces of the country. The life of the Muslims of the world (Russia included) at that time was characterized by the steady growth of their national and religious consciousness and aspirations towards educational, cultural, and economic, and later political, independence. One of the most important and foundational elements of these longings, which later mutated into political struggle, was the establishment of a number of newspapers and journals published and owned by Muslim publishers. These mass media were celebrating the spiritual, cultural and historical values of Islam and Muslim civilization as a whole, both its glorious history and more contemporary aspects. Many such newspapers sprang up in the Russian provinces inhabited by Muslims. Some of them were published in the Russian language, which was the official language of the state. But later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, many newspapers were issued in the so-called ‘Muslim’ languages of the Russian Empire – Azeri, Bashkir, Crimean Tartar, Tadjik, Tartar, Uzbek and others. Among the first ‘Muslim’ newspapers of Russia we might mention the newspaper named Terdjuman. This was edited by a famous Muslim figure in public and cultural life, the Russian statesman Ismail Bey Gaspr ‘Ali (Gasprinskiy), in the town of Baghchesarai (situated in the Crimean peninsula). This and other Russian Muslim newspapers and journals contained many articles and notes concerning the main pillars of Islam – including the hajj and how to fulfil its obligations, the Russian hajjis and their needs and requirements, descriptions of the two Holy Mosques and reminiscences of the Russian hajjis about their travels to the holy cities of the Hejaz.

Articles and assorted documents concerning the hajj found in the Russian State Archives and Russian periodicals describe the conditions of Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara at the time of the hajj, and the life, customs, and traditions of their populations: their economic and political situation, the patterns of occupation of the citizens of the two holy cities, and so on. These articles and documents give a precise account of the ethnic composition of the pilgrims, the relations that existed between them during the hajj, and so on. We can say that the Russian State Archives and the Russian newspapers published both in Russian and in the so-called ‘Muslim’ languages of the Russian Empire could well be called a treasure-house of information and written historical materials concerning the hajj. The authority of the Russian Empire helped Russian Muslim pilgrims successfully solve the various judicial, political, financial and medical problems that confronted them on their way to Arabia. Therefore we can say that the Russian State Archives, and above all those that are situated in St Petersburg, abound in historical materials and documents related to the hajj.

One of the biggest and most famous historical archives of Russia is the Central State Historical Archive of the Russian Federation in St Petersburg. This Archive was founded in 1922. It contains more than 6 million copies of different documents, manuscripts, official and private letters, edicts and decrees that were issued, prepared or belonged to various official establishments, institutes and organizations of the Russian Empire. These documents give a vast and detailed description of practically all aspects of life of Russian society from the opening of the eighteenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Many documents from this State archive pertain to the foreign policy of the Russian Empire, including its relations and links with the countries of the Middle East.

A certain number of these records relate to the holy hajj and the solution of the various problems that were faced by the Russian hajjis who went from various parts of Russia to Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara. These documents are concentrated mainly in the following deposits or departments (enumerated by numbers) of the Central State Historical Archive of the Russian Federation:

N 86 – the documents of the trade shipping department of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Empire. This department’s records contain information on the process of the transportation of Russian hajjis from Russia to Arabia and back by sea.

N 95, 98 – the documents of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire. This department accommodates records on financial questions related to the transportation of Russian hajjis to Arabia and the allocation of financial funds by the Russian Government for the purposes of the construction of special hotels, hostels and railway stations for the use of Muslim pilgrims on the territory of the Russian Empire.

N 223 – the documents of the State Council of the Russian Empire. They hold information on procedures for solving various problems affecting Russian hajjis by the authority of the Empire. The descriptions of the progress of the hajj as seen by ordinary Russian hajjis, later translated into the Russian language, are concentrated in this department.

N 821 – the documents of the department of foreign (i.e. not Russian Orthodox) faiths of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire. This department contains information on the numbers of Russian Muslim Ulama and Mullahs who went annually to the two Holy Mosques for hajj.

N 1151 – the documents of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire. This department accommodates records on the judicial and administrative organization of the transportation of Russian hajjis to Arabia. The texts of the rules, laws and requirements concerning Russian hajjis in general, and in particular during their stays aboard Russian ships and in Russian hotels and hostels built specially for them are concentrated in this department.

N 1152 – the documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. This department contains documents concerning the establishment of the Russian Imperial Consulate in Jeddah, and the activities of the Russian Embassies and Consulates (above all in Constantinople, Jeddah and Yanbo’) aimed at rendering various forms of assistance to Russian hajjis during their travels to Hejaz and their stay there.

N 1263 – the documents of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire. They contain information about the attitudes of the various Russian ministries, institutions and organizations involved in facilitating all the various aspects of the process of the hajj for Russian Muslim pilgrims.

N 1276 – the documents of the Office of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire.

N 1286 – the documents of the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire. These accommodate information concerning the fulfilment of various regulations by the Russian hajjis during their travel through Russian territory on their way to the two Holy Mosques.

N 1298 – the documents of the Medical Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Empire hold information concerning various public health measures undertaken against the possibility of the appearance of infectious diseases brought back by hajjis within the territory of the Empire.

Each of these deposits is divided into many so-called ‘Inventories’ – subdivisions, containing thousands of items of assorted historical documents and records. They are grouped according to their origin, time of emergence, topic, or subject, or their attitude towards some particular state institution, private company, or personage, and so on. Documents of the Central State Historical Archive of the Russian Federation in St Petersburg form a rich collection of firsthand accounts and descriptions of many aspects of the holy hajj undertaken by thousands of Russian Muslims annually at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries.

Another important depository of Russian historical documents is the State Central Naval Archive of the Russian Federation. It too is located in St Petersburg. This archive is one of the oldest in Russia. It is the only specialized archive containing records and documents on the history of the Russian navy and merchant fleet. It was established in 1724 by Tsar Peter the Great. More than 1.2 million copies of documents, maps, ships’ logs, drawings, drafts, photos of ships and other handwritten and printed materials related to history of the Russian navy and merchant fleet are deposited there. Many of these documents pertain to relations between Russia and the countries of the Middle East – Saudi Arabia included. There are many records and papers concerning the history, economy, administrative structure, and culture of Saudi Arabia and its contacts with other countries in this archive.

As a result of the fact that ships of the Russian merchant fleet conveyed Russian hajjis to Yanbo’ and Jeddah and Russian warships sailed in the waters of the Red Sea many documents in this Archive contain precious information concerning the conduct of the holy hajj. These documents are preserved in the following deposits of the State Central Naval Archive of the Russian Federation:

N 29 – the documents belonging to the N. N. Beklemishev deposit. Beklemishev was a general of the Russian army. The documents kept in this deposit contain the reports of captains of Russian steamboats that brought Russian hajjis to Jeddah and Yanbo’ at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries.

N 417 – the documents of the General Staff of the Russian Navy. They contain reports from the Russian Imperial consul in Jeddah and the Russian consular agent in Yanbo’, which were usually closely connected with Russian hajjis. This department’s archive also contains reports from captains of Russian warships that sailed in the Red Sea at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Some of these documents contain information on Russian and foreign pilgrims.

N 410 – the documents of the Russian Navy Ministry office. They hold information on the Red Sea; its shores (the Arabian littoral included) and the process of sailing there.

Some of these documents contain information concerning Hejaz and its cities – Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara included.

As I have mentioned before, Russian periodicals, and above all newspapers and journals issued in the so-called Muslim regions of the Russian Empire, in its capital St Petersburg, in Moscow and in the seaports of the northern shores of the Black Sea, from which the Russian hajjis sailed to Hejaz, contain many articles and reports on the life and problems of Russian Muslim pilgrims. These mass media often published the reports and memoirs of the hajjis themselves. These reminiscences usually contained descriptions of their journeys to the two Holy Mosques, of the process of hajj itself and of their impressions of the two Holy cities – Makkah al-Mukarrama and al-Madinah al-Munawara. The complete list of these newspapers is too long to be given in full here. I shall therefore name here only a few of them that frequently published materials on the holy hajj. These newspapers were the following (I give only their names and places of publication):

§ The Voice of Turkestan – the town of Andijan (in the Ferghana region of Central Asia, now the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan)

§ The Trans-Caspian Review – Ashgabat (the principal town of the Transcaspian region of the Russian Empire, now the capital of the Republic of Turkmenistan)

§ Caucasus and Central Asia – Baku (now the capital of the Azerbaijan Republic)

§ Tarjuman – Baghchesarai (a town in the Crimean peninsula, now in the Ukraine Republic)

§ The Kazan Provincial Register – Kazan (a city in the basin of the Volga river inhabited mainly by Tartars)

§ The Review of the Black Sea Ports – Odessa (the main Russian seaport on the northern shore of the Black Sea)

§ Distant Lands – Samarkand (a city in the Turkestan area of the Russian Empire, now Uzbekistan)

§ The Turkestan Regional Register – Tashkent (the principal city of the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire, now the capital of the Uzbek Republic)

§ The Central Asian Register – Tashkent.

In the documents of the Russian State Archives and the articles of the newspapers of the Russian Empire we can find information concerning the following subjects:

§ The geographical origin of Russian hajjis – those provinces and dependencies of the Russian Empire that dispatched the greatest numbers of Muslim pilgrims.

§ The total annual number of Russian hajjis. The annual number of hajjis originating from every province and dependency of the Russian Empire.

§ The ethnic and tribal composition of the Russian pilgrims.

§ The social, professional and educational composition of the Russian pilgrims.

§