Akhaltsikhe uezd

The Akhaltsikhe uezd[lower-alpha 1] was a county (uezd) of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and then of Democratic Republic of Georgia, with its administrative center in Akhaltsikh (present-day Akhaltsikhe).[1] The uezd bordered the Gori uezd and the Kutaisi Governorate to the north, the Akhalkalaki uezd to the east, the Ardahan Okrug of the Kars Oblast to the south, and the Batum Okrug of the Batum Oblast to the west. The area of the uezd roughly corresponded to the contemporary Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia.

Akhaltsikhe uezd
Ахалцихскій уѣздъ
Uezd
Coat of arms of Akhaltsikhe uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Tiflis Governorate
Location in the Tiflis Governorate
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
GovernorateTiflis
Established1840
Abolished1930
CapitalAkhaltsikh
(present-day Akhaltsikhe)
Area
 • Total2,653.82 km2 (1,024.65 sq mi)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total96,947
 • Density37/km2 (95/sq mi)
 • Urban
26.27%
 • Rural
73.73%

History

The territory of the Akhaltsikhe uezd, entered into the Kutais Governorate of the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828. By 1840, the Аkhaltsikhe uezd was formed as a civilian district of the Tiflis Governorate. In 1874, the Akhalkalaki uezd was detached from it as a separate county.[1]

Following the Russian Revolution, the Akhaltsikhe uezd was incorporated into the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia.[1]

Lord Curzon during the Paris Peace Conference assessed the ethnographic situation in the southwestern uezds of the Tiflis Governorate:[2][3]

On the grounds of nationality, therefore, these districts ought to belong to Armenia, but they command the heart of Georgia strategically, and on the whole it would seem equitable to assign them to Georgia, and give their Armenian inhabitants the option of emigration into the wide territories assigned to the Armenians towards the south-west.

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Akhaltsikhe uezd in 1913 were as follows:[4]

Name 1912 population Area
Atskhurskiy uchastok (Ацхурскій участокъ) 19,433 859.55 square versts (978.22 km2; 377.69 sq mi)
Koblianskiy uchastok (Кобліанскій участокъ) 27,572 727.97 square versts (828.48 km2; 319.88 sq mi)
Uravelskiy uchastok (Уравельскій участокъ) 20,230 744.46 square versts (847.24 km2; 327.12 sq mi)

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Akhaltsikhe uezd had a population of 68,837 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 36,807 men and 32,030 women. The plurality of the population indicated Turkish to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian, Tatar,[lower-alpha 2] and Georgian speaking minorities.[7]

Linguistic composition of the Akhaltsikhe uezd in 1897[7]
Language Native speakers %
Turkish 24,137 35.06
Armenian 15,144 22.00
Tatar[lower-alpha 2] 12,370 17.97
Georgian 12,211 17.74
Russian 1,743 2.53
Kurdish 1,396 2.03
Ukrainian 490 0.71
Jewish 446 0.65
Polish 435 0.63
Greek 149 0.22
German 88 0.13
Lithuanian 88 0.13
Chechen 15 0.02
Ossetian 14 0.02
Persian 12 0.02
Romanian 12 0.02
Assyrian 10 0.01
Avar-Andean 6 0.01
Belarusian 5 0.01
Czech 5 0.01
Kazi-Kumukh 5 0.01
Latvian 3 0.00
Chuvash 2 0.00
French 2 0.00
Imeretian 2 0.00
Kyurin 1 0.00
Talysh 1 0.00
Other 45 0.07
TOTAL 68,837 100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Akhaltsikhe uezd had a population of 96,947 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 51,549 men and 45,398 women, 93,847 of whom were the permanent population, and 3,100 were temporary residents:[8]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Georgians 2,783 10.93 42,709 59.75 45,492 46.92
Armenians 18,165 71.32 10,060 14.07 28,225 29.11
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 3] 30 0.12 16,680 23.34 16,710 17.24
Jews 3,246 12.74 5 0.01 3,251 3.35
Kurds 0 0.00 1,801 2.52 1,801 1.86
Russians 716 2.81 88 0.12 804 0.83
Roma 457 1.79 14 0.02 471 0.49
Asiatic Christians 0 0.00 89 0.12 89 0.09
Other Europeans 53 0.21 28 0.04 81 0.08
North Caucasians 16 0.06 3 0.00 19 0.02
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 4] 4 0.02 0 0.00 4 0.00
TOTAL 25,470 100.00 71,477 100.00 96,947 100.00

See also

Notes
  2. Before 1918, Azerbaijanis were generally known as "Tatars". This term, employed by the Russians, referred to Turkic-speaking Muslims of the South Caucasus. After 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".[5][6]
  3. Primarily Turco-Tatars.[9]
  4. Primarily Tatars.[9]

References
  1. Tsutsiev 2014.
  2. Britain, Cab 27/37, E.C. 2525.
  3. Hovannisian, Richard G. (1971–1996). The Republic of Armenia. Vol. 1. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 267. ISBN 0-520-01805-2. OCLC 238471.
  4. Кавказский календарь на 1913 год, pp. 164–175.
  5. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  6. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  7. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  8. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 206–213.
  9. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

Bibliography

41°38′20″N 42°59′10″E


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