Abstract
THE EMERGENCE OF TURKOLOGICAL STUDIES AT KAZAN UNIVERSITY AND THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF RESEARCH ON THE TATAR LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
This study investigates the development of the Turkological tradition at Kazan University from the early 19th century to the 21st century, revealing how research on the Tatar language and literature evolved into an independent academic discipline and institutional field. The primary aim of the study is to demonstrate how early philological efforts, institutional reorganizations during the Soviet era, and the academic expansion of the modern period formed complementary stages of continuity within this tradition.
A qualitative research approach has been adopted; relevant documents and literature were carefully analyzed through historical-document examination. The three-phase conceptual model (1804-1917; 1917-1991; post-1991) provides a comparative framework that highlights points where the scholarly tradition was maintained despite political and social transformations. The findings clearly show that the development of Turkology at Kazan was shaped not only by Russian Orientalists but also by the strong and creative contributions of Tatar teachers and local intellectuals.
The Kazan School stands as a central and influential academic center that ensures the sustained institutionalization of the Tatar language on historical, philological, and cultural grounds-uniting the scholarly heritage of the past with modern scientific approaches, clarifying the present scope of Turkology, and guiding its future.
Keywords
Kazan University; Turkology; Department of Oriental Languages; Kazan School