Rus istisnacılığının inşası: Rus akademisinde ilk Oryantologlar

Rus devletinin ve toplumunun “Doğu” ile “Batı” arasındaki yeri çağlar boyunca tartışmalı bir konu olduğundan, “Rus Oryantalizmi” de Rusya ve Avrasya’yla ilgili bölge çalışmalarının anahtar kavramlarından biri haline gelmiştir. Bu makalede, bahsekonu "Oryantalizm"in bir kaynağı sözde "Rus istisnacılığı" veya "benzersizliği" olarak araştırılmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, Oryantologların Rus emperyal ajandasına uygun şekilde fikirlerini ortaya koyarak etkilerini arttırdığı 19. Yüzyıl süresince Rus Akademisinde bu konuya destek teşkil eden ilk ve önemli argümanlar bulunmaya çalışılacaktır. Bu itibarla, Rusya için bir "arada kalmışlık durumu"yla ortaya çıkan ve Akademi'nin çalışmalarından giderek daha fazla destek alan "mekânsallık" etkisinin, gerek Batılı gerek Doğulu komşularla meşru bir benzerlik ve/veya zıtlık durumundan beslenmek suretiyle daha hegemon ve güçlü bir Rus zihniyetine zemin hazırladığı ele alınacaktır. Öte yandan, bu süreçte günümüze de etki eden şu güçlü argüman geçerli kalmaya devam edecektir: "Medeni" Rus merkezi seçkinleri, Devletleri için "Şarkı" her zaman fethedilen Kafkasya, İdil/Ural veya Orta Asya (Türkistan) gibi "doğu" topraklarında aramaya devam etmişlerdir.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Rus oryantalizmi, Rus akademisi, inşacılık; dikotomiler, oryantolog, Kazan, St.Petersburg

Construction of Russian exceptionalism: first Orientologists in Russian academia

Since the exact positioning of the Russian state and society between “the East” and “the West” has long been a contested topic, the term “Russian Orientalism” has emerged as a frequent keyword in Russia and Eurasia-related area studies. This paper investigates one source of this "Orientalism" in the so-called “Russian exceptionalism” or “uniqueness”. To this end, first supporting arguments are sought in Russian academia from the 19th century, through which the growing impact of Orientologists led to the promotion of ideas that followed the official tenets of Russian imperialism. It will be therefore argued that with the increasing support of academic works, the effect of “spatiality” that emerged as “in-between status” provided a more hegemonic and stronger Russian mentality that was nurtured by both the similarities and/or contrasts with the nation’s Western and Eastern neighbors. One strong argument will remain, however, as an ongoing area of evaluation – suggesting that the “civilized” Russian central elites continue to search for their State’s “Orient” within the conquered “eastern” territories, such as in the Caucasus, Idel/Volga or in Central Asia (Turkestan).

Keywords:

Russian Orientalism, Russian academia, constructivism, dichotomies; Orientologists, Kazan, St. Petersburg,

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