Nikolai Katanov

Nikolai Fedorovich Katanov
Khakas: Пора Хызыл оғлы
Born	(1862-05-18)May 18, 1862 Izyum locality near the village of Askiz, Turakovsky Ulus, Minusinsk district, Yeniseysk Governorate
Died	March 9, 1922(1922-03-09) (aged 59) Kazan, TASSR, RSFSR
Citizenship	Russian Empire, RSFSR
Alma mater	Saint Petersburg State University
Known for	Turkologist, scholar of Central Asian languages and social activist
Scientific career
Fields	Philology, Folklore studies, Turkology
Academic advisors	Vasily Radlov
Notable students	Sergey Malov, Zeki Velidi Togan

Nikolai Fedorovich Katanov (6 [18] May 1862, Izyum (Uzyum) near the village of Askiz – 9 March 1922, Kazan) was a Russian Turkologist, professor at the Imperial Kazan University and the Kazan Theological Academy, doctor of comparative linguistics, ethnographer, folklorist and social activist. Katanov is widely regarded as the first Khakass scientist and was an Active State Councillor in 1915.^[1] He was born into the family of an ulus clerk. From 1876 to 1884, he studied at Krasnoyarsk gymnasium, graduating with a gold medal. He then attended the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University from 1884 to 1888. On the recommendation of Vasily Radlov, he was sent on an ethnographic-linguistic expedition to Siberia and East Turkestan to study the languages and lifestyles of Turkic tribes. From 1889 to 1892, he studied the peoples of Khakassia, Tuva, Zhetysu, Tarbagatai, and Xinjiang. In 1894, Katanov moved to Kazan after being unsuccessful in securing a place at the University of St. Petersburg. He worked in Kazan for 28 years until his death. In 1903, he defended his master's thesis titled 'The Experience of the Study of the Uriankhai Language'. In 1907, he earned his Doctorate in Comparative Linguistics based on his extensive body of work. From 1911 to 1917, he primarily taught at the Kazan Theological Academy, where he held the position of Ordinary Professor. In 1919, he was elected as a professor at Kazan University through the All-Russian competition, which was approved by Narkompros in 1921.

N.F. Katanov was a member of two foreign societies. The author was a member of several scientific societies, including the Société des sciences et lettres in Leuven, the Ungarische ethnographische Gesellschaft in Budapest, and the Finno-Ugrian Society in Helsingfors. He was also a full member of the Imperial Russian Geographic Society, the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society since 1894, and the Society of Devotees of Natural Science, Anthropology, and Ethnography. Additionally, he was a member of the Turkestan circle of lovers of archeology in the city of Tashkent, and a full member of the Kazan and Semipalatinsk statistical committees.^[2] From 1898 to 1914, N.F. Katanov chaired the Society of Archaeology, History and Ethnography at Kazan University. He resumed his position as chairman in 1919. In addition to his academic pursuits, Katanov was actively involved in public life, especially in the field of sobriety propaganda. His scientific works continue to be published and republished in the 21st century.