Elizavetpol uezd

The Elizavetpol uezd,[lower-alpha 1] also known as the Ganja uezd[lower-alpha 2] after 1918, was a county (uezd) of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire, and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolition in 1929.[4][5] The area of the Elizavetpol uezd corresponds to the modern-day Gadabay, Shamkir, Dashkasan, Goygol, and Samukh districts of Azerbaijan.

Elizavetpol uezd
Елисаветпольскій уѣздъ
Uezd
Coat of arms of Elizavetpol uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Elizavetpol Governorate
Location in the Elizavetpol Governorate
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
GovernorateElizavetpol
Established1840
Abolished1929
CapitalYelisavetpol
(present-day Ganja)
Area
 • Total9,930.73 km2 (3,834.28 sq mi)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total272,477
 • Density27/km2 (71/sq mi)
 • Urban
21.19%
 • Rural
78.81%

Geography

The Elizavetpol uezd was located in the northern part of Elizavetpol Governorate, bordering the Tiflis Governorate to the north, the Kazakh uezd to the west, the Aresh uezd to the east and Jevanshir uezd to the south. The administrative center of the uezd was the city of Yelisavetpol (Ganja).

The area of the county was 8,726 square verst and was divided into two parts: the northeastern lowlands steppes, irrigated by Kura River and its tributaries and southwestern mountainous part, watered by Kura's right bank tributaries. The lowland part was split by the Kura and Alazani rivers, the latter of which is not forested, less fertile and rarely used for farming. The mountainous part of the county stretched up to the mountain range adjacent to Lake Sevan. The highest peaks of uezd included Murovdag, (Azerbaijani: Murovdağ; 11,219 ft), Ginal-dag (Azerbaijani: Ginaldağ; 11,057 ft), Gyamysh (Azerbaijani: Gəmış; 12,263 ft), bordered Javanshir uezd of Elizavetpol Governorate and Novobayazet uezd of Erivan Governorate. The main rivers flowing down from these mountains into the lowland part of uezd and discharging into Kura were Kuruk-chay, Ganja-chay, Qoshqara-chay, Shamkhor-chay.[5]

History

After establishment of Russian rule over the khanates of the South Caucasus and the implementation of administrative reforms, the territories of Ganja khanate were incorporated into the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire. On 10 April 1840, the Elizavetpol uezd was established within Georgian-Imereti Governorate, and on 14 December 1846 it was incorporated into the newly created Tiflis Governorate. In 1868, the uezd was reestablished within the newly founded Elizavetpol Governorate with its capital in Elizavetpol (present-day Ganja).[6]

After establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, the uezd was renamed to the Ganja uezd, then named back to the Elizavetpol uezd and then again to the Ganja uezd on 10 August 1918. On 22 April 1920, a part of Ganja uezd was established as the Shamkhor uezd within Azerbaijan.

With the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan and subsequent establishment of Soviet rule, the uezd was abolished on 8 April 1929 following an administrative reorganisation of the region.[7]

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Elizavetpol uezd in 1912 were as follows:[8]

Name 1912 population Area
1-y uchastok (1-й участокъ) 29,547 1,515 square versts (1,724 km2; 666 sq mi)
2-y uchastok (2-й участокъ) 27,847 1,948 square versts (2,217 km2; 856 sq mi)
3-y uchastok (3-й участокъ) 26,880 1,298 square versts (1,477 km2; 570 sq mi)
4-y uchastok (4-й участокъ) 35,816 2,191 square versts (2,493 km2; 963 sq mi)
5-y uchastok (5-й участокъ) 21,166 1,111 square versts (1,264 km2; 488 sq mi)
6-y uchastok (6-й участокъ) 5,134 461 square versts (525 km2; 203 sq mi)

Economy

The population of the county was engaged primarily in agricultural farming, gardening, winemaking, corn and rice growing. Wine production in Azerbaijan was mostly seen in the city of Elizavetpol and German-populated town of Helenendorf where 450,000 canisters of wine were produced annually. In 1890, there were 107 factories and plants with a total number of workers at 2,136. There were two copper plants which produced 84% of the copper in Caucasus.[5]

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Elizavetpol uezd had a population of 162,788 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 90,584 men and 72,204 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar[lower-alpha 3] to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian and Russian speaking minorities.[11]

Linguistic composition of the Elizavetpol uezd in 1897[11]
Language Native speakers %
Tatar[lower-alpha 3] 103,970 63.87
Armenian 43,040 26.44
Russian 7,224 4.44
German 3,086 1.90
Belarusian 2,835 1.74
Georgian 622 0.38
Ukrainian 369 0.23
Polish 299 0.18
Avar-Andean 296 0.18
Kazi-Kumukh 207 0.13
Greek 178 0.11
Jewish 101 0.06
Persian 79 0.05
Kyurin 39 0.02
Lithuanian 38 0.02
Kurdish 38 0.02
Udi 4 0.00
Romanian 2 0.00
Other 361 0.22
TOTAL 162,788 100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Elizavetpol uezd had a population of 272,477 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 140,113 men and 132,364 women, 239,688 of whom were the permanent population, and 32,789 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated Shia Muslims to be the plurality of the population of the district, with significant Armenian, Sunni Muslim, and Russian minorities:[12]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 4] 37,619 65.16 88,012 40.98 125,631 46.11
Armenians 12,125 21.00 56,589 26.35 68,714 25.22
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 5] 539 0.93 51,185 23.84 51,724 18.98
Russians 6,091 10.55 12,353 5.75 18,444 6.77
Other Europeans 319 0.55 6,093 2.84 6,412 2.35
Georgians 303 0.52 154 0.07 457 0.17
North Caucasians 202 0.35 250 0.12 452 0.17
Jews 391 0.68 7 0.00 398 0.15
Asiatic Christians 58 0.10 101 0.05 159 0.06
Kurds 84 0.15 0 0.00 84 0.03
Roma 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
TOTAL 57,731 100.00 214,746 100.00 272,477 100.00

Notes
  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".[9][10]
  4. Primarily Tatars.[13]
  5. Primarily Turco-Tatars.[13]

References
  1. Sâmî, Şemseddîn (1889). قاموس الاعلام: تاریخ و جغرافیا لغاتنی و تعبیر اصحله كافه اسماء خاصه‌یی جامعدر (in Ottoman Turkish). Mihran Matbaası. pp. 840–841 – via Google Books.
  2. "Выпуск 1-й. Учебные заведения." [Part 1. Educational institutions.]. Перепись просветительных учреждений Азербайджана 31 января 1922 года: списки просветительных учреждений [Census of educational institutions of Azerbaijan on 31 January 1922: lists of educational institutions.] (in Russian and Azerbaijani). Baku: Azerbaijani Central Statistical Bureau. 1922. p. 13 – via State Public Historical Library of Russia.
  3. "Выпуск 15-й. Ганджинский уезд." [Part 15. Ganja uezd.]. Азербайджанская сельскохозяйственная перепись 1921 года [1921 Azerbaijani agricultural census] (in Russian and Azerbaijani). Baku: Azerbaijani Central Statistical Bureau. 1922. p. 131 – via State Public Historical Library of Russia.
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elisavetpol (government)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 280; see final three lines. The government is divided into eight districts, Elisavetpol, Aresh, Jebrail, Jevanshir, Kazakh, Nukha, Shusha and Zangezur.
  5. "Большой энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона. Елизаветполь" [Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia Dictionary. Elizavetpol]. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  6. "Presidential Library. Coats of Arms and Emblems". Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  7. "АДМИНИСТРАТИВНО-ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОЕ ДЕЛЕНИЕ" [Administrative-territorial division] (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  8. Кавказский календарь на 1913 год, pp. 152–159.
  9. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  10. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  11. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  12. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 190–197.
  13. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

Bibliography

40°40′58″N 46°21′38″E

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