SPARING NO MONEY

The chairman of the committee for the construction of the Petersburg cathedral mosque, Col Abdul Aziz Dovletsin, arrived in Baku in September 1913. The visit aimed to persuade Baku millionaires to take part in the final phase of the construction. 

First donations 

The initiative to build a mosque in Petersburg came from the Muslim community in Petersburg as early as in 1881. However, the government chose to disregard the popular initiative. Nevertheless, the Muslim community started raising donations to build the mosque. Twenty years later, on 12 April 1902, the idea resurfaced and was again included in the agenda of the general assembly of Muslims. This time, the government only responded to the initiative four years later. In 1906, permission was issued to establish a special committee to oversee the construction. By the time, donations had reached over 53,000 roubles. The committee was given permission to raise an additional amount of 750,000 roubles across Russia in a ten year period. 

During the first year of its operation, the committee managed to collect over 100,000 roubles. The donations started to flow after reports emerged that Bukhara emir, Abdul Akhad Khan, had allocated 500,000 roubles to purchase a land plot for the mosque. It is no secret that the Bukhara emir enjoyed close friendship with Baku millionaire Haci Zeynalabdin Tagiyev. Whenever the emir arrived in Baku he always stayed at Tagiyev's home and showed interest in his friend's initiatives. In particular, during one of such trips, the emir visited a Russian Muslim school for women which had been opened by Tagiyev. Tagiyev supported the Bukhara emir's charity work and contributed 15,000 roubles to the construction of the mosque. Aga Murtuza Muxtarov donated another 5,000. 

Tsar Nikolay II issued permission for the construction of the mosque on 27 July 1909. Understandably, the decision was prompted by considerations of political correctness: following the integration of Central Asia into Russia under Aleksandr III, the royal court tried to observe interests of the Muslim community. The solemn groundbreaking ceremony of the mosque was held on 3 February 1910. The event was attended by the Bukhara emir, the Tatar elite, religious figures led by Orenburg mufti M. Sultanov, representatives of the government and the military, consuls of the Ottoman state and Persia, as well as numerous Muslim residents. 

In 1913, Russia marked the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House Romanov. Celebrations were held across the country. The main events were certainly held in Petersburg where people from all walks of life from every corner of the empire arrived. Member of the Baku city council, Aga Yusuf Dadasev, was chosen to represent the Azerbaijani capital at the Petersburg celebrations. 

Money for chandeliers  

The first prayer at the cathedral mosque was performed on 21 February 1913. Certain works had already been completed. In Petersburg, Dadasev met Bukhara emir, Alim Khan, the son of Abdul Akhad Khan, who assumed office in 1910, and told him that he intended to donate 20,000 roubles to the Petersburg mosque. Of this, 10,000 was meant to be spent on chandeliers and the remaining 10,000 on carpets. In recognition of this, the Bukhara emir awarded him the 1st degree order. In April of the same year, the tsar's decree made Dadasev a state councillor. 

The chairman of the committee for the construction of the Petersburg cathedral mosque, Col Dovletshin, arrived in Baku with sketches of chandeliers and lamps that were supposed to light up the mosque. These paintings, which also included an estimated budget of the project, were shown to Baku millionaires. They agreed to allocate funds for purchasing all necessary accessorize for lighting the mosque. Tagiyev agreed to purchase the largest chandelier, costing 9,500 roubles. Isa Bay Hacinskiy, Aga Bala Quliyev, Mirza Abdullayev, brothers, Ali Bay and Bala Bay Asurbayov, Asraf, Nacaf, the Amiraslanov brothers and Ismayil Bay Safaraliyev paid for the chandeliers that cost 1,100-1,200 roubles each. 

Today, the St Petersburg cathedral mosque is an outstanding monument of Islamic architecture. The building was constructed between 1909-1920 on the basis of a project by architect N. V. Vasilev and the participation of engineer S. S. Krichinskiy and architect A. I. Von Gogen. Turkologist and former academic of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, A. N. Samoylovich, oversaw the decoration of Koranic inscriptions. In 1927-1930 and 1940-1956, the mosque did not function and in 1940, the building was handed over to the Leningrad City Health Department and was used as a medical equipment warehouse. In 1956, the mosque was returned to the congregation.