Gulripshi District

Gulripshi District (Georgian: გულრიფშის რაიონი, Abkhaz: Гәылрыҧшь араион) is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Until the August 2008 Battle of the Kodori Valley, the north-eastern part of Gulripshi district was part of Upper Abkhazia, the corner of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia until the Battle of the Kodori Valley during the August 2008 South Ossetia War. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the district's 19,918 inhabitants, most of whom were ethnic Svans (a subgroup of the Georgian people).[2] Most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned.

Gulripshi District
გულრიფშის რაიონი
Гәылрыҧшь араион
District
Dranda Cathedral is one of the oldest in Abkhazia
Dranda Cathedral is one of the oldest in Abkhazia
Location of Gulripshi district in Abkhazia
Coordinates: 43.1000°N 41.4170°E / 43.1000; 41.4170
CountryGeorgia
De Facto stateAbkhazia[1]
CapitalGulripshi
Government
 • GovernorAslan Baratelia
Area
 • Total1,835 km2 (708 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total18,032
 • Density9.8/km2 (25/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK)

Of note is the Dranda Cathedral sitting over a shrine built by Justinian in 551. The medieval principality of Dal-Tsabal was centered in the district. Abkhazia's main airport, Sukhumi Dranda Airport, is also located in Gulripshi district.

Administration

Adgur Kharazia was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections.[3]

On 18 December 2002, President Ardzinba released Kharazia as Administration Head and appointed him as Minister for Agriculture and Food.[4]

On 16 June 2003, President Ardzinba appointed Tamaz Gogia as Administration Head.[5] In the beginning of 2004, district officials stayed away from work in protest of what they perceived as rudeness from Gogia. In response, Gogia applied for resignation which President Ardzinba granted on 9 February, appointing First Deputy Head Aslan Baratelia as acting Head.[6][7]

On 24 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh replaced Administration Head Aslan Baratelia with Mikhail Logua.[8] In the 2011 Presidential election, Logua successfully ran for Vice President alongside Alexander Ankvab. He was succeeded on 14 December by Timur Eshba, who had previously been Deputy Head.[9]

Following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 23 September 2014 he replaced Eshba with Aslan Baratelia.[10]

List of Administration Heads
# Name From Until President Comments
Adgur Kharazia 1993 [11] 26 November 1994
26 November 1994 18 December 2002 [4] Vladislav Ardzinba
Tamaz Gogia 16 June 2003 [5] 9 February 2004 [7]
Aslan Baratelia 9 February 2004 [7] 24 March 2005 [8] First time
Mikhail Logua 24 March 2005 [8] 29 May 2011 Sergei Bagapsh
29 May 2011 26 September 2011 Alexander Ankvab
Timur Eshba 14 December 2011 [9] 1 June 2014
1 June 2014 23 October 2014 [10] Valeri Bganba
Aslan Baratelia 23 October 2014 [10] Present Raul Khajimba Second time

Demographics

At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the district was 18 032 people, consisting of:[2]

Settlements

The district's main settlements are:

See also

References
  1. The political status of Abkhazia is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Georgia in 1992, Abkhazia is formally recognised as an independent state by 5 UN member states (two other states previously recognised it but then withdrew their recognition), while the remainder of the international community recognizes it as as de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.
  2. 2003 (2002) Census results
  3. "Выпуск № 92". Apsnypress. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. Новые назначения в правительстве Абхазии. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 18 December 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  5. "Выпуск № 121". Apsnypress. 16 June 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  6. Kuchuberia, Anzhela (10 February 2004). "Президент Абхазии освободил Тамаза Гогия от обязанностей главы администрации Гулрипшского района". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  7. "Выпуск №28". Apsnypress. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. Bagapsh, Sergei (24 March 2005). "О главе Администрации Гулрыпшского района". Administration of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  9. "Тимур Эшба назначен главой администрации Гульрипшского района". Apsnypress. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
  10. "У К А З О главе администрации Гулрыпшского района". Apsnypress. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. "Харазия Адгур Рафетович". People's Assembly - Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
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