Turkish Scholars Coming From Russia to Turkey and Studies on Orientalism by them in the 19th and the Beginning of 20th Century
50th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Kazan 2007
Orientalistic studies in Turkey began in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, and these were accompanied with some non-important activities by scholars come from Russia. However, it based on especially the founding of Turkish Republic in 1923 and some scholars being invited from both European countries and Russia during the time of M. Kemal Ataturk. And younger Turkish scholars who were taught by them followed their steps. The scholars from Russia are those Turkish or Tatar origins, and those well knowing East source languages just as Arabic and Persian and Russian language and any West European one. Some other scholars once had gone to one European country and there learnt the Western research methods and the general works on Turkish history and culture. To this group we can give the names of Aghaoghlu Ahmed and Akchuraoghlu Yusuf who published their works in the periodical Turk Yurdu.
After founding the Turkic Republic in 1923, aiming to settle the foundings of the new state to scholarly principles, M. Kemal Ataturk, had the activities of Turkic history begun from 1925 thanks to the scholars coming from European countries and Russia and giving to him support about this matter. In these works were condensed to more the Central Asia and Anatolia and attached importance to study those civilizations and states founded in that areas. The activities on the subjects of History and Language gained speed from 1930s and became an association together with the founding of Turkish Historical Society, 1931), Turkish Language Society (1932) and the Faculty of Language and History-Geography (DTCF, 1936), and here openings of a lot departments relating to Orientalism. Also being aware that to be translated to Turkish of the very important studies in foreign languages is needed, Ataturk, gave importance firstly to be translated into Turkish of especially source materials, works and articles those written in Russian and about Central Asian history and culture and the main dictionaries such as Kirghiz, Yakut and Chuvash ones.
About Central Asian history and civilizations, among the scholars those come from abroad and especially Russia and made studies in that period, we can give the following scholars together with their works, articles, and translations from Russian: S. Maksudi (Arsal), Z. Validi (Togan), Abdülkadir (İnan), A. Caferoglu, A. Nimet Kurat, A. Battal (Taimas), H. Zübeyr (Koshay) and R. Rahmati (Arat). A most part of those scholars participated to history and language activities in Turkey during the time of Ataturk, with their both original works, and translations, for example from academic V. V. Bartol’d, Anohin, and their activities in commissions of History and Language.
Apart from, to give a series of conferences about Central Asian history and civilization Bartol’d was invited to Turkey and he gave 12 lessons at the University of Istanbul in 1927. Ottoman Turkey and just Ataturk also gave important to found a library for specialists. For example, the library of famous turcologist N. F. Katanov from University of Kazan were bought and transfered to Turkey with ships between 1912 and 1922.