Karim Khakimov

He was one of the first plenipotentiary representatives of Soviet Russia in the Arab world and made a significant contribution to the establishment of good relations between the newly established Soviet Republic and the Arab-Persian world, especially within the recently unified Saudi Arabia.

In April of 1925, Khakimov undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca, meeting Abdulaziz for the first time and forming a strong working relationship.

By 1932, relations between Saudi Arabia and the USSR had cooled, partly owing to Khakimov's absence in recent years.

[2] He was recalled from Saudi Arabia in September 1937, arrested in Moscow under suspicion of subversive activity, and executed in January 1938 during the Great Purge.

[2] He was the subject of a biographic documentary, Russian Lawrence of Arabia: Life and death of Karim Khakimov 1892-1938 made by Radik Kudoyarov in 2010.