Vladimir Karlovich Myuller (or Müller, ; 24 May 1880 – December 1941) was a Russian

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

. Müller held a professorial degree and compiled the most popular English–Russian dictionary, which saw numerous reeditions (some containing about 70,000 words and expressions). Müller was also an expert on medieval

dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The role of a dramaturg in the field of modern dramaturgy is to help realize the multifaceted world of the play for a production u ...

, particularly on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. He published ''The Drama and Theatre of Shakespear's Epoch'' (1925) and lectured Shakespeariana to

Dmitry Likhachov Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachev (, also spelled ''Dmitrii Likhachev'' or ''Dmitry Likhachov''; – 30 September 1999) was a Russian medievalist, linguist, and a former inmate of Gulag. During his lifetime, Likhachev was considered the world's fore ...

Life

Müller was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, his father was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. Upon graduation from

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, Müller continued studies in Oxford and London. In 1918, Müller became a Professor and lectured at various institutions. He was described as "sincere opponent of German

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

" by his student and noted scholar

Igor Diakonov Igor Mikhailovich Diakonoff (occasionally spelled Diakonov, ; 12 January 1915 – 2 May 1999) was a Russian historian, linguist, and translator and a renowned expert on the Ancient Near East and its languages. His brothers were also distinguis ...

. Around 1915 Müller married Aleksandra Petrovna Gneusheva. In the 1920s Müller wrote multiple articles on English literature for ''

Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary'' () is a Russian encyclopedic dictionary originally published in 58 volumes with one supplement throughout both the Tsarist and Soviet periods. The dictionary's full title is ''The Encyclopedic Dictionary o ...

'', ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

'' and ''

Literature Encyclopedia Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, th ...

''. According to Diakonov, Müller saw the cause of transition from

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

and the loss of external grammatical flexion in the plague epidemic of the 14th century. In 1926 Müller moved with his wife to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In the following year he began working on English dictionaries, together with

Semyon Boyanus Simon Charles Boyanus (; 8 July 1871 – 19 July 1952) was a Russian phonetician who worked in England. Life Boyanus was born in 1871 in Moscow. Simon's father was Karl Karlovich Boyanus, a famous homeopathic doctor, German by origin. Simon re ...

. The exact date of Müller's death is unknown. It is believed that both Vladimir Müller and his wife died during the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

in 1941. Müller's wife was an art scholar and worked in the

National Library of Russia The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...

References

1880 births 1941 deaths Lexicographers from the Russian Empire Linguists from the Russian Empire Scholars of English literature Shakespearean scholars Writers from Moscow Moscow State University alumni Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Expatriates from the Russian Empire in the United Kingdom Philologists from the Russian Empire Linguists from the Soviet Union Soviet philologists Victims of the Siege of Leningrad Soviet lexicographers {{Philology-stub