One can hardly doubt the existence of a German Lutheran congregation in St. Petersburg in 18th-early 19th centuries. Given the number of Germans in Russia of that time I wonder why do think that only Dutch were allowed to settle in Russia. Cf. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_der_Russlanddeutschen#Vorgeschichte_%E2%80%93_Deutsche_in_russischen_St%C3%A4dten

Among numerous Lutheran churches in Saint Petersburg some were definetely German. E.g. St.-Annen-Kirche was built in 1770-th for German Lutherans. http://www.encspb.ru/object/2804010164?lc=en

As for Böhtlingk,it is usually believed that he belonged to a German family from Lübeck that settled in Russia in 1713. What are the reasons to think he was Dutch?

--
Evgeniya Desnitskaya

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts

Russian Academy of Sciences

15.09.2021, 18:57, "Jan E.M. Houben via INDOLOGY" <indology@list.indology.info>:

Dear Roland,

What remains is that Böhtlingk's family belonged to the Dutch merchant community in St. Petersburg.

Whether or not his forefathers had adopted the Dutch nationality which at that time was practically the only way to be officially allowed to settle in the Russian empire depends on the archival evidence that can be found, minus coverup attempts that may have followed... There were very old Lutheran congregations in the Dutch republic preaching since the 16th century in 'Nederduits' -- grammatically standardized several centuries before 'Hochdeutsch' -- so the religious or even religious-linguistic affiliation need not be a decisive factor.

N.B. the existence of a German Lutheran congregation in St. Petersburg in the early and mid-19th century should not be construed according to the political situation of middle Europe in the late 19th century, post-Bismarck.

Best,

Jan Houben

On Wed, 15 Sept 2021 at 13:43, Roland Steiner via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

> Otto Böhtlingk, whose forefathers adopted the Dutch nationality
> in order to be able to settle as merchants in the Russian Empire.

According to the research of Agnes Stache-Weiske, this claim, which
can be found in various places (e.g. Windisch, Kern, Mylius), is not
true. It is correct that Böhtlingk's father belonged to the Dutch
merchant community in St. Petersburg, but according to Stache-Weiske
this says nothing about his nationality. A relatively sure indication,
however, is the religious affiliation of the family, which from the
beginning belonged to the German Lutheran congregation in St.
Petersburg and not to the Dutch Reformed Church.

Böhtlingk's father only acquired Russian citizenship shortly before
his death, but only for himself and not for his family. It was only
when he was awarded the title of nobility that Otto Böhtlingk himself
became a Russian citizen in 1888.

Compare Agnes Stache-Weiske: "... für die Wißenschaft, der ich von
ganzer Seele lebe", Otto Böhtlingk (1815-1904): ein Gelehrtenleben,
rekonstruiert und beschrieben anhand seiner Briefe, Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz 2017,, p. 12 f.

Best,
Roland Steiner

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Jan E.M. Houben

Directeur d'Études, Professor of South Asian History and Philology

Sources et histoire de la tradition sanskrite

École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, Paris Sciences et Lettres)

Sciences historiques et philologiques

Groupe de recherches en études indiennes (EA 2120)

johannes.houben [at] ephe.psl.eu

https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben

https://www.classicalindia.info

LabEx Hastec OS 2021 -- L'Inde Classique augmentée: construction, transmission

et transformations d'un savoir scientifique