MILLER, Vsevolod Fedorovič. Moscow 7.(19.)4.1848 — St.Petersburg 5.(18.)11.1913. Russian Indo-Iranian Scholar. Son of poet Fëdor Bogdanovič M., grew up in Moscow. From 1866 studies at Hist.-Philological Faculty of Moscow University, soon moved to Physical-Mathematical Faculty, but still followed Petrov’s teaching. After graduation in spring 1870 conducted fieldwork with Fortunatov in Lithuania, where they collected 150 songs and fairy tales. For a while taught classical languages in a Moscow school. His main interest was now Veda, on which he also wrote his thesis for the degree of Magister in 1876. From 1877 Docent at Moscow, taught Asian history, Sanskrit and comparative IE and Indo-Iranian, and in women’s classes Old Russian literature and history of Russian language. In 1879 visited Caucasia and started Ossetic studies. Doctor 1883. From 1897 Director of Lazarevskij Institut in Moscow. From 1911 ord. Member of Imperial Academy, in Division of Russian language and literature, now moved to St.Petersburg. Married Evgenija Viktorovna Nasonova, children, i.al. —> Boris V. Miller.

Miller began as a Vedic scholar, but soon developed into a specialist of Iranian and is best remembered for his work on Ossetic. In the 1890s he turned more into Old Russian, improving the methods of Bylina studies.

Publications: Mag.diss. Očerki arijskij mifologii v svjazi drevnejšej kul’turoj. 1. Açviny – Dioskury. 8+356 p. M. 1876.

– “Ueber den letto-slavischen infinitiv”, Beitr. z. vgl. Sprachforschung 8, 1876, 156-174; Vsgljad na Slovo o polku Igoreve. 2+261 p. M. 1877.

– Dr. diss. Osetinskie ètjudy. 1–3. M. 1881-87 (1. Teksty, 2-3. Issledovanija).

– “Sur le rôle du chien dans quelques croyances mythologiques”, Atti di IV Congresso Internazionale di Orientalisti, Firenze 1878. t. 2, 1880, 39-60; other articles on Veda, Iranian, also on Russian.

– With F. Knauer: Rukovodstvo k izučeniju sanskrita (Grammatika, teksty i slovar’). 8+124+157 p. St.P. 1891.

– Materialy dlja izučenija evrejsko-tatskogo jazyka. 24+90 p. St.P. 1892.

– Očerki russkoj narodnoj slovesnosti. Byliny. 1-2. 1897-1910.

– Ossetisch. 6+111 p. Grundriss der iranischen Philologie 1:3. Strassburg 1903; “Beiträge zur ossetischen Etymologie”, IF 21, 1907, 323-334.

– Osetinsko–russko–nemeckij slovar’ / Ossetisch–russisch–deutsches Wörterbuch. Red. A. A. Frejman. 1-3. 1729 p. Lg. 1927-34.

Sources: Bongard-Levin & Vigasin 98f.; *Vigasin 2008, 108-200 with photo; *B. A. Kaloev, V. F. Miller – Kavkazoved (Issledovanie i materiali). 198 p. Ordžonikidze 1963 (life, photo, letters); S. F. Ol’denburg, Russkaja mysl’ 1913:12, 39-41; *A. Vigasin et al., Istorija otečestvennogo vostokovedenija s serediny XIX veka do 1917 goda. Moscow 1997, 25-27; Wikipedia with photo, more details in Russian Vikipedija.