Sukhumi okrug

The Sukhumi or Sukhum okrug[lower-alpha 1] was a special administrative district (okrug) in the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, part of the Kutaisi Governorate from 1883 until 1905. The administrative center of the district was the Black Sea port city of Sukhum (present-day Sukhumi). The okrug bordered the Kutaisi Governorate to the southwest, the Kuban Oblast to the north and the Black Sea Governorate to the northwest and in terms of its area corresponded to most of contemporary Abkhazia. During 1905–1917, the Sukhumi okrug was one of the smallest independent (not part of any province or region) administrative units of the Russian Empire, second to the Zakatal okrug.

Sukhumi okrug
Сухумскій отдѣльный округъ
Okrug
The Sukhumi okrug in the Caucasus Viceroyalty
The Sukhumi okrug in the Caucasus Viceroyalty
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
Established1883
Abolished1921
CapitalSukhum
(present-day Sukhumi)
Area
 • Total6,591.42 km2 (2,544.96 sq mi)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total209,671
 • Density32/km2 (82/sq mi)
 • Urban
29.56%
 • Rural
70.44%

History

In the 19th century, the territory of the Sukhumi okrug, some 6,942 square versts (7,900 square kilometres) containing 79,195 inhabitants, consisted of the Principality of Abkhazia (abolished in 1864) and the communities of Tsebelda, Samurzakan, and Pskhu community. In 1864–1866, the military district of Sukhumi was made up of the okrugs of Abkhaz, Bzyb, and Abzhua and pristavstvos of Tsebelda and Samurzakan.[1] In 1883, the district was transformed into an okrug and incorporated into the Kutaisi Governorate.[2] In 1905, the Sukhumi okrug was separated from the Kutaisi Governorate to be directly administered by the Viceroy of the Caucasus.[3]

In April–May 1918, Georgian forces of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic prevented Soviet forces from taking the district. In June 1918, as a result of an agreement between the authorities of the Georgian Democratic Republic and the Abkhaz People's Council, the Georgian army occupied the district as well as the adjacent Sochi and Tuapse okrugs—the Georgian government aimed to "present the Volunteer Army with a fait accompli", using historical justifications for incorporating these districts.[4]

As result of attempts by Anton Denikin to conquer the district in 1919 during the Sochi conflict, a neutralised bufferzone was imposed north of the district in the Sochinsky okrug, between the Mekhadiri and Psou rivers. According to the Treaty of Moscow (1920), the Georgia–Russia border in Abkhazia was "traced along the Psou" rather than the Bzyb (further south) which had been the boundary of the Sukhumi okrug.[5] The 1921 constitution of Georgia guaranteed Abkhazia the autonomy for managing its internal affairs. The constitution was proclaimed after the Red Army invasion of Georgia in February 1921; the nature of the promised autonomy was never determined.[6]

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Sukhumi okrug in 1912 were as follows:[7]

Uchastok Russian name 1912 population Area
Gudauta Гудаутскій участокъ 24,107 869.53 square versts (989.58 km2; 382.08 sq mi)
Gumista Гумистинскій участокъ 10,210 2,897.89 square versts (3,297.98 km2; 1,273.36 sq mi)
Kodor Кодорскій участокъ 20,808 887.85 square versts (1,010.43 km2; 390.13 sq mi)
Samurzakan Самурзаканскій участокъ 34,617 1,136.52 square versts (1,293.43 km2; 499.40 sq mi)

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Sukhumi okrug had a population of 106,179 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 59,836 men and 46,343 women. The majority of the population indicated Abkhazian to be their mother tongue, with significant Mingrelian, Armenian, Greek, and Russian speaking minorities.[8]

Linguistic composition of the Sukhumi okrug in 1897[8]
Language Native speakers %
Abkhazian58,69755.28
Mingrelian23,81022.42
Armenian6,5526.17
Greek5,3935.08
Russian5,1354.84
Georgian1,8301.72
Turkish1,3471.27
Ukrainian8090.76
Estonian6040.57
German4060.38
Polish2340.22
Persian1860.18
Tatar[lower-alpha 2]1710.16
Imeretian1410.13
Jewish1360.13
Romanian1330.13
Svan920.09
Lithuanian720.07
Belarusian670.06
Avar-Andean260.02
Ossetian110.01
English60.01
Kurdish20.00
Kazi-Kumukh10.00
Other3180.30
TOTAL 106,179 100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Sukhumi okrug had a population of 209,671 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 127,619 men and 82,052 women, 135,838 of whom were the permanent population, and 73,833 were temporary residents.[11]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Asiatic Christians 4,700 7.58 98,464 66.67 103,164 49.20
Georgians 25,156 40.59 25,227 17.08 50,383 24.03
Russians 18,890 30.48 6,585 4.46 25,475 12.15
Armenians 8,250 13.31 12,493 8.46 20,743 9.89
Other Europeans 1,720 2.78 4,928 3.34 6,648 3.17
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 3] 2,390 3.86 0 0.00 2,390 1.14
North Caucasians 399 0.64 0 0.00 399 0.19
Jews 250 0.40 0 0.00 250 0.12
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 4] 219 0.35 0 0.00 219 0.10
TOTAL 61,974 100.00 147,697 100.00 209,671 100.00

Notes
    • Russian: Суху́мскій отдѣ́льный о́кругъ, romanized: Sukhúmsky otdélny ókrug
    • Georgian: სოხუმის ოკრუგი, romanized: sokhumis ok'rugi
    • Abkhaz: Акалакь Аҟәа
  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".[9][10]
  3. Primarily Turco-Tatars.[12]
  4. Primarily Tatars.[12]

References
  1. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 173.
  2. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 162.
  3. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 174.
  4. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 66.
  5. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 77.
  6. Welt 2012, pp. 214–215
  7. Кавказский календарь на 1913 год, pp. 164–167.
  8. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  9. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  10. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  11. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 206–209.
  12. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

Bibliography
  • Welt, Cory (2012), "A Fateful Moment: Ethnic Autonomy and Revolutionary Violence in the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)", in Jones, Stephen F. (ed.), The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918–2012: The first Georgian Republic and its successors, New York City: Routledge, pp. 205–231, ISBN 978-0-41-559238-3

43°00′15″N 41°02′34″E

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