134 Chapter Four
his unique ability to bring order to the hajj traffic.^68 He assured Tolmachev that
his comprehensive plan would solve the problems of railroad and steamship
travel for pilgrims, and that with it the hajj would “finally happen as it should.”^69
The controversy surrounding the hajj complex in Odessa is noteworthy for
several reasons. It reveals the limits of Stolypin’s influence as minister of inter-
nal affairs, insofar as Tolmachev did not immediately heed his order to recog-
nize and support Saidazimbaev as hajj director. Surely this happened in other
parts of the empire as well, where local officials had their own concerns and
agendas with regard to the hajj traffic through their regions or cities, and might
have resisted deferring to an outsider on a matter of such importance. It is also
clear that resistance among officials in Odessa to Saidazimbaev was tinged with
anti-Islamic sentiment. Gurzhi, who saw Saidazimbaev as a threat to his busi-
ness, tried to discredit him by resorting to stereotypes, referring to him as an
“untrustworthy ‘Sart,’ ”—the latter was a general term used by Russians to refer
to settled Muslim peoples in Central Asia, but Gurzhi’s usage seems less than
neutral, if not a slur. Other Odessa officials also used this term to refer to Saidaz-
imbaev, and rumors swirled that he sought land in the port so that he could “sell
it to other people.”^70 These reactions suggest anxiety on the part of some city
officials about the sudden influx of Muslims into Odessa, one of the empire’s
most cosmopolitan cities, but also one marked by growing intolerance for its
large Jewish population, and with little historical experience with Muslims.^71
Interestingly, Tolmachev yielded to the pressure. He put Saidazimbaev in
charge of organizing the hajj in Odessa, and forced Gurzhi to turn his blue-
prints for the hajj complex over to him. He also ordered Gurzhi and the person-
nel who had worked for him the previous hajj season to work for Saidazimbaev.^72
Tolmachev did not, however, have the authority to transfer the plot of land in
the port to Saidazimbaev. It belonged to the Ministry of Trade, and negotia-
tions over it continued to drag on. By July the Council of Ministers in St. Peters-
burg was considering the case, and it was unclear when the matter would be
resolved.^73 With the first trainloads of pilgrims set to arrive in the city in two
months, Saidazimbaev was eager to get started on preparations. Already tele-
grams were coming from Turkestan, asking about the readiness of the hajj
complex. He and Tolmachev decided it was time to find an alternate spot to
house the hajj complex.^74
Subsequent developments, and Tolmachev’s correspondence with other offi-
cials in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, shed light on why Tolmachev changed
his mind and backed Saidazimbaev. With Tolmachev’s help, and for the large
sum of 7,500 rubles, Saidazimbaev rented the Alexander III House of Industry