Alexandropol uezd

The Alexandropol uezd,[lower-alpha 1] known after 1924 as the Leninakan uezd,[lower-alpha 2] was a county (uezd) of the Erivan Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. The uezd bordered the governorate's Etchmiadzin and Nor Bayazet uezds to the south, the Borchaly and Akhalkalaki uezds of the Tiflis Governorate to the north, the Kazakh uezd of the Elizavetpol Governorate to the east, and the Kars Oblast to the west.[1] The area of the uezd included most of the contemporary Shirak Province, and southern parts of the Lori Province of Armenia. The district was eponymously named for its administrative center, Aleksandropol (present-day Gyumri), which at the time was a major railway hub of the Russian South Caucasus.[2]

Alexandropol uezd
Александропольскій уѣздъ
Uezd
Coat of arms of Alexandropol uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Erivan Governorate
Location in the Erivan Governorate
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
GovernorateErivan
Established1840
Abolished1929
CapitalAleksandropol
(present-day Gyumri)
Area
 • Total3,854.28 km2 (1,488.15 sq mi)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total226,080
 • Density59/km2 (150/sq mi)
 • Urban
22.94%
 • Rural
77.06%

History

The district of Alexandropol was established in 1840 as part of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty, owing its name to its administrative capital, Alexandropol, which was renamed from Kumayri in 1837 during a visit of Tsar Nicholas I in honor of his wife Alexandra Feodorovna. In 1849, the Alexandropol uezd was assigned to the succeeding Tiflis Governorate, and later, by 1849, the county was transferred to the Erivan Governorate.[1]

Following the Russian Revolution and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, local Armenian forces led by General Tovmas Nazabekian[3] in early 1918 fought to defend Alexandropol and its surrounds against the invading Ottoman Third Army, commanded by General Vehib Pasha.[4] The Treaty of Batum which was imposed on the newly-created Armenian republic stripped it of the Alexandropol uezd, assigning the district to the Ottoman Empire,[5] which sought complete control over the city of Alexandropol for its vitally important railway junction connecting to Julfa and Persia where the Ottoman Army was active.[6]

The city including its strategically important fortress and railway was unoccupied after months of occupation by the last Ottoman troops on 5 December 1918, following the Mudros Armistice in which the Ottoman Army was compelled to withdraw from parts of the former Russian Transcaucasus. After the Ottoman evacuation which was overseen by Mehmed Alfa, rubble cluttered the streets, homes had been looted and hundreds of thousands of animals were taken away, thus depriving the district of its ability to produce agricultural output.[7]

After Alexandropol and its peripheries had been incorporated into Armenia, some 60,000 Armenians refugees exiled from the Kars Oblast gathered in the city, sheltering in the old Russian army barracks as they awaited permission to cross the Arpachay (Akhuryan) river to return to their homes.[8]

During the Armenian-Turkish war, the city was again occupied by Turkish forces on 7 November 1920 and served as the place of negotiations between General Kâzım Karabekir and a delegation of the Armenian government led by Prime Minister Simon Vratsian. On 3 December 1920, the eponymous Treaty of Alexandropol was signed in the city, in which Armenia rescinded its claims to lands west of the Akhuryan and Aras rivers.[9][10]

Some time after the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia, the district and city of Alexandropol were renamed to Leninakan in honor of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. By 1930, the uezd was reorganized into the raions of Ani, Akhuryan, Amasia, Aragats, Artik, Ashotsk, Gugark, and Spitak.[11]

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Alexandropol uezd in 1913 were as follows:[12]

Name 1912 population Area
1-y uchastok (1-й участокъ) 49,847 840.89 square versts (956.99 km2; 369.49 sq mi)
2-y uchastok (2-й участокъ) 39,643 832.79 square versts (947.77 km2; 365.93 sq mi)
3-y uchastok (3-й участокъ) 32,616 815.50 square versts (928.09 km2; 358.34 sq mi)
4-y uchastok (4-й участокъ) 42,223 897.52 square versts (1,021.43 km2; 394.38 sq mi)

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Alexandropol uezd had a population of 165,503 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 89,482 men and 76,021 women. The majority of the population indicated Armenian to be their mother tongue, with significant Tatar,[lower-alpha 3] Russian, and Kurdish speaking minorities.[15]

Linguistic composition of the Alexandropol uezd in 1897[15]
Language Native speakers %
Armenian141,52285.51
Tatar[lower-alpha 3]7,8324.73
Russian5,6723.43
Kurdish4,9763.01
Ukrainian1,1150.67
Greek1,0820.65
Polish9720.59
Jewish4500.27
Italian3250.20
Lithuanian3180.19
Georgian2670.16
Turkish2350.14
Persian1260.08
German1050.06
Belarusian490.03
Assyrian340.02
Mordovian120.01
Tat10.00
Other4100.25
TOTAL 165,503 100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Alexandropol uezd had a population of 226,080 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 119,473 men and 106,607 women, 214,044 of whom were the permanent population, and 12,036 were temporary residents:[16]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Armenians 45,646 87.99 156,859 90.04 202,505 89.57
Russians 4,082 7.87 3,306 1.90 7,388 3.27
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 4] 1,003 1.93 6,194 3.56 7,197 3.18
Yazidis 229 0.44 5,672 3.26 5,901 2.61
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 5] 0 0.00 1,983 1.14 1,983 0.88
Asiatic Christians 421 0.81 72 0.04 493 0.22
Other Europeans 269 0.52 73 0.04 342 0.15
Jews 129 0.25 25 0.01 154 0.07
Kurds 71 0.14 0 0.00 71 0.03
Roma 24 0.05 22 0.01 46 0.02
TOTAL 51,874 100.00 174,206 100.00 226,080 100.00

Soviet census (1926)

According to the 1926 Soviet Census, the population of the uezd was 166,793, of whom, Armenians were 146.257 (87.7%), Turks – 147 (0.1%), Kurds – 7,469 (4.5%), and Russians – 2,041 (1.2%).[18]

Notes
    • Russian: Александро́польскій уѣ́здъ, romanized: Aleksandrópolsky uyézd
    • Armenian: Ալեքսանդրապոլի գավառ, romanized: Alek̕sandrapoli gavaṙ
  3. 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".[13][14]
  4. Primarily Tatars.[17]
  5. Primarily Turco-Tatars.[17]

References
  1. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 59.
  2. admina (27 November 2021). "Ալեքսանդրապոլի գավառ. տարածքը և բնակչությունը 1831-1918 թվականներին" [Alexandropol uezd: area and population in 1831–1918]. ANI Armenian Research Center. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  3. Hovannisian 1971, p. 163.
  4. Balakian, Peter (2005). The burning Tigris : a history of the Armenian genocide. London: Pimlico. p. 321. ISBN 0-7126-6761-X. OCLC 61128609.
  5. Kazemzadeh 1951, p. 110.
  6. Kazemzadeh 1951, p. 127.
  7. Hovannisian 1971, p. 59.
  8. Hovannisian 1971, pp. 199–208.
  9. Suny, Ronald Grigor (1993). Looking toward Ararat : Armenia in modern history. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN 0-253-35583-4. OCLC 26014198.
  10. Galichian, Rouben (2015). A glance into the history of Armenia : through cartographic records. London. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-908755-26-1. OCLC 946068334.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. "Административно-территориальное деление союзных республик СССР на 1 января 1987 года | Проект "Исторические Материалы"". istmat.info. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  12. Кавказский календарь на 1913 год, pp. 172–179.
  13. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  14. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  15. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  16. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 214–221.
  17. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.
  18. "EthnoKavkaz". www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru. Retrieved 2022-10-22.

Bibliography

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