150 Chapter Four
By 1910, ROPiT and the Volunteer Fleet were both running ads for their
“Hejaz Steamships” in Muslim newspapers across the empire. “Esteemed hajjis”
were offered extensive services on board, discounts for buying round-trip tick-
ets, and a variety of choices: ROPiT offered ships from Sevastopol or Feodosiia
to Beirut, while the Volunteer Fleet ran service between Odessa and Beirut,
Yanbu, or Jeddah.^120 But clearly the fleet continued to grapple with its past asso-
ciation with Saidazimbaev, and to search for ways to entice Muslims back to its
ships. In fine print, at the bottom of a 1910 Volunteer Fleet ad, ran the following
disclaimer: “Said Gani Saidazimbaev has nothing to do with the services of the
Volunteer Fleet.”^121
The Russian government preserved the Odessa hajj complex, with its
state-of-the-art “disinfection” facility, but did not make it mandatory for pil-
grims to stay there, allowing various private companies to compete for the busi-
ness of hajj pilgrims. Petr Gurzhi regained control of his company, renaming it
in 1909 the Society for the Transport of Muslim Pilgrims. The society adver-
tised its services in Muslim newspapers—they included passage on special
Figure 4.7. Joint Volunteer
Fleet-ROPiT advertisement, offering
steamship service for the upcoming
pilgrimage to Mecca. 1912.
(Turkistan wilayatining gazeti)