Çarlık Rusya’sında Balkan Topraklarının Dil, Kültür ve Coğrafi Açıdan İnceleme Çalışmaları - Studies of the Balkan Lands in Terms of Language, Culture, History and Geography in Tsarist Russia

The history of scientific research in Russia is considered to be related to the date of foundation of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Academy of Sciences, founded by I. Petro, has survived to this day, increasing over time its institutes and research units. One of the research divisions of the Academy of Sciences was the Russian Geographical Society. This institution, called the association, served the political interests of the country, conducting diverse research in regions within the borders of Russia, and providing a multifaceted study of the region (economy, natural resources, minerals, geography, ethnic composition, folklore). It is known that some of the activities of this institution are carried out outside Russia. However, for various reasons, the Balkanlands were not included in the scope of study of the Russian Geographical Society. The history of the Balkan region and the peoples of this region coincides with the middle of the XIX. century. Russian diplomats working in the Balkans during this period carried out the first studies. In general, the main purpose of these works is to acquaint the Russian reader with the peoples of Christian and Slavic origin in the Balkans. For this reason, diplomats, travellers and volunteers included observations of the Slavic peoples in the Balkan lands, their life, languages and traditions in their works and letters, and the Russian diplomat Konstantin Leontiev wrote literary works in which, based on his observations, representatives of the Balkan peoples acted as heroes. In this article, we will try to provide general information about these studies, focusing on the Slavic peoples in the Balkans. Keywords: Slavistic, Panslavism, B