THE FORGOTTEN PIONEER OF SIBERIAN STUDIES: GERHARD FRIEDRICH MÜLLER ABSTRACT

Abstract

Müller, a scientist of German origin, was born into a bourgeois, educator family. The joint studies of German-Russian scientists during the reign of Peter the Great, especially the fact that German scientists went to Russia, also influenced Müller. After Müller went to Russia as a graduate historian, he carried out almost all of his scientific studies there. He took important positions at the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, which he entered shortly after and served for many years. Also, the expeditions that started during the reign of Peter the Great enabled Müller to discover his main field of work. The Siberian studies of Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt (1685-1735) influenced Müller. Again in 1725, the First Kamchatka Expedition organized by Vitus Bering, who was commissioned by Peter I, to find the land and sea connections between Asia and America, also increased Müller's interest in Siberia. Thus, Müller applied for the Second Kamchatka Expedition in 1733 and was accepted. In this trip, he collected many materials and described the people of Siberia. After this trip, which lasted about ten years, he created the most important works in the field of Siberian history. The most important of these is Istorii Sibiri, which consists of four volumes. In this work, the war with Yermak, the construction of Siberian cities, including the construction of Siberia from ancient times to XVIII. Century has been told. He applied the research methods of the West in Russia and became one of the founders of modern Russian historiography. After Müller's work, the first ethnographic museum and ethnography chair in Russia were established. Norman theory again caused great controversy in Russia after his conference. He also served in other duties besides historiography, He rose to the position of rector during the Yekaterina II reign. The life and scientific personality of Müller, the pioneer of Siberian studies, has been studied especially by German and Russian historians. Few monographs exist in the rest of Europe. In Turkey, however, a monograph has not been conducted yet. Müller influenced the methods of studies on Siberian Turks in Russia. Because Müller collected information about the material and spiritual lives of the Turkish and Finno-Ugric peoples and tried to explain their historical, geographical, cultural and religious characteristics. In addition, he investigated the factors affecting the socio-cultural, political and economic articulation of the Turkic peoples in Siberia with the Russian Empire. In this respect, it is important to know Müller's scientific personality and works in Turkey. In this study, Müller's autobiography was used as the most crucial source of his scientific career. Apart from this, biographies written in the 20th century during the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics hold an essential place. However, in these biographies, Müller's bourgeois origins are emphasized and there is prejudice. Severe criticism of the Norman theory also influenced the formation of harsh expressions in the biographies. In this regard, it has to be carefully studied. Evaluations to the contrary are seen in the biographies written by German scientists. In these biographies, it is stated that Müller was the founder of the science of ethnography. It is also seen that Russian sources are not used enough. In this respect, biographies were carefully evaluated in the study. Unverifiable information is not included. Thus, it is aimed to reveal Müller's life, scientific activities and contributions.