İsmail Türkoğlu,
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University,
Fındıklı, Istanbul, 34427,Turkey,
turkogluismail@yahoo.de.
The article throws light upon the journey of the former Turkish Prime Minister Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha and Finance Minister Mahmud Esad Efendi to Russia, particularly to the Volga-Ural region at the beginning of the 20th century. Along with his Russian visit to Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and Samara, Hilmi Pasha went to Kazan during his 8 month long journey to Europe in 1910. While travelling, he studied the intellectual and social life of Russia’s Muslims. It was a great event for that period of time. For the first time in the history of Kazan the Ottoman Pasha was officially received and shown a high level of respect.
The second part of the article deals with Mahmud Esad Efendi’s journey to the Volga-Ural region. The author analyses the coverage of that journey in the print media of the time. On the one hand, Hilmi Pasha and Mahmud Esad Efendi’s travels provided information about the relationship between Russia and Turkey, and on the other hand, they helped to improve cultural, social, and religious relations as well as strengthen the ties between the related nations – the Volga-Ural region Tatars and the Turks. Moreover, the works and articles published as a result of these travels inform the readers about the cultural and intellectual life of that period, and about outstanding Tatar and Turkish people.
Key words: Russian Muslims, Volga-Ural region, national education, schools and madrasahs, press, Tatar intellectuals, relationship between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.