In a news item written in a manner as if two persons were in a conversation something was told about a visit of the Smolensk to Rotterdam.(1) “Yes she is the famous ship from the war between Russia and Japan. In a period of four years she had been a merchant ship, a merchant raider, an auxiliary cruiser, a coal ship, a troop transport, a conveyer and a ‘wrecker’ (?) and had been on the seven world seas. She is the first steamship of the Russian volunteer fleet serving on the two months line Libau-New York. Returning from New York arrived she 11 August at Rotterdam and anchored in the Rijnhaven barracks A. On board were some officers who served during the war. The crew consisted of well built sailors mostly blond more likely being German and Swedish coming from the Baltic provinces instead of being of Slavic original. The officers are real Russians.
Note
1. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cruisers_of_the_Russian_Navy#Non-protected_.26_auxiliary_cruisers was the Rion the former Dobroft liner Smolenk from 1901 which was commissioned in 1904 as an auxiliary cruiser, returned a year later to the Dobroflot while being renamed Smolensk again, in 1913 again commissioned as the training ship Rion, in 1914 serving as transport, captured by the White Army in 1919, interned by France at Bizerte, Tunis, handed over to the Soviet Union in 1924 and finally sold to be broken up. If she was interned at Bizerte she must have been part of the fleet commanded by Wrangel
