World War I is one of the most critical thresholds in the formation of the modern world. Unfortunately, the period between 1914 and 1918 has not been viewed from a cultural perspective as viewed from the perspectives of military, political and economic history. This enormous quake in the world history has literally formatted the world culturally and mentally. Military fronts were actually a relatively small side of this great war. The realities behind the front were much more intense and complex. The transforming power of war is not merely caused by fire, gunpowder or steel. War is a transformative force because of increased observations about the world, recognition of unknown people and exotic geographies. The war years have been a period in which the travel ended with its old form, but re-emerged in line with new forms and purposes, and became massive. Since war observations, memories, logs are full of references to physical and human geography, they can be seen as anWorld War I is one of the most critical thresholds in the formation of the modern world. Unfortunately, the period between 1914 and 1918 has not been viewed from a cultural perspective as viewed from the perspectives of military, political and economic history. This enormous quake in the world history has literally formatted the world culturally and mentally. Military fronts were actually a relatively small side of this great war. The realities behind the front were much more intense and complex. The transforming power of war is not merely caused by fire, gunpowder or steel. War is a transformative force because of increased observations about the world, recognition of unknown people and exotic geographies. The war years have been a period in which the travel ended with its old form, but re-emerged in line with new forms and purposes, and became massive. Since war observations, memories, logs are full of references to physical and human geography, they can be seen as an
Seyahat notları, hatıratlar ve günlükler resmi tarih yazımındaki boşlukları dolduracak nitelikte birçok içeriğe sahiptir ve bundan dolayı tarihçiler için kıymetli kaynaklardır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, 93 Harbi’nde Kars Muharebesi’ndeki tarihsel bağlamı Vladimir Petrovich Meşçerski'nin 1877'de savaş sırasında Moskova'dan Kars'a yaptığı yolculuğunu konu alan "Kafkasya Seyahat Günlüğü"nden yola çıkarak irdelemektir. 93 Harbi’ne dair geniş bir literatür bulunmasına rağmen, Kars taarruzu esnasındaki ve sonrasındaki gelişmelere ilişkin bilgimizdeki eksiklikleri tamamlayacak cepheye dair ilk elden bilgiye pek sahip değiliz. Meşçerski'nin seyahat günlüğü 93 Harbi’nde doğu cephesine yakından bir bakış sağlamanın ötesinde Rus işgali altındaki yerel halkın tavırlarına ışık da tutmaktadır. Bu günlük gazeteci ve yazar Meşçerski'nin bakış açısından aktarılan önemli bir bilgi kaynağı sunmasına rağmen daha önce 93 Harbini konu alan akademik literatürde kullanılmamıştır.