Russian Diplomat-Occultist at the Consulate of the Russian Empire in Jeddah
The article offers a research into the diplomatic activities pursued by the Consulate of the Russian Empire in Hejaz - one of the Arabian vilayets of the Ottoman Empire - through the correspondence maintained by Consulate Secretary Sergey Tukholka with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Imperial Embassy in Constantinople throughout the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The author highlights the internal political situation in the vilayet, where behind-the-scenes power struggle was underway between the Turkish Vali - the vilayet governor and the “great Sharif of Mecca” - the Emir of Mecca, likewise the strife between the vilayet authorities and Bedouin tribes. Special attention is paid to the issue of Muslim pilgrimage to the local sanctuaries and the role played by the Consulate in ensuring conditions for the Russian Muslims to stay safely in Hejaz during the Hajj season. The author analyzes the project originated by Tukholka to establish control over the Hajj and protect the Russian pilgrims from the ruthless exploitation they were subjected to by the dalils, their assistants - wakils and mutawwifs, who paid a kickback to the Mecca Sharif. Moreover, when the pilgrims died during the Hajj, their money was grabbed hold of either by the dalils, or by local authorities, or by those who accompanied the deceased. Given those facts, the Russian Consulate knew nothing about the death of pilgrims from Russia. The measures suggested by the Secretary of the Russian Consulate included the formation of groups among the pilgrims each headed by the group chief who would be accountable to the Russian Consulate, and the use of exclusively Russian vessels to travel to Jeddah, also commissioning of two Russian officers from among the Muslim community to go to Jeddah over the Hajj period and making sure that the pilgrims could return home safely. However, these measures were never accomplished.