Akhaltsikhe uezd

The Akhaltsikhe uezd^[b] 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 corresponded to part of the contemporary Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia.

Akhaltsikhe uezd Ахалцихский уезд
Uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Tiflis Governorate
Country	Russian Empire
Viceroyalty	Caucasus
Governorate	Tiflis
Established	1840
Abolished	1930
Capital	Akhaltsikh (present-day Akhaltsikhe)
Area
• Total	2,653.82 km2 (1,024.65 sq mi)
Population  (1916)
• Total	96,947
• Density	37/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 (Ацхурский участок)	19,433	859.55 square versts (978.22 km2; 377.69 sq mi)
Koblianskiy uchastok (Кобліанский участок)	27,572	727.97 square versts (828.48 km2; 319.88 sq mi)
Uravelskiy uchastok (Уравельский участок)	20,230	744.46 square versts (847.24 km2; 327.12 sq mi)

Demographics

1897 Russian census

According to the 1897 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,^[c] 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[c]	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[d]	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[e]	4	0.02	0	0.00	4	0.00
TOTAL	25,470	100.00	71,477	100.00	96,947	100.00

See also

• History of the administrative division of Russia

Notes

1. Western Armenian pronunciation: [ɑχɑlt͡sʰχɑˈji kʰɑˈvɑr]
2. • Russian: Ахалцихский уезд, pre-reform orthography: Ахалцихскій уѣздъ, romanized: Akhaltsikhskiy uyezd [ɐxəɫt͡sɨxskʲɪj ʊ(j)ɪst]
   • Georgian: ახალქალაქის მაზრა, romanized: akhalkalakis mazra [aχalkʰaɫakʰis mazɾa]
   • Armenian: Ախալցխայի գավառ, classical orthography: Ախալցխայի գաւառ, romanized: Axalc'xayi gawaṙ [ɑχɑlt͡sʰχɑˈji ɡɑˈvɑr]^[a]
   • Turkish: Ahıska kazası [ahɯska kazasɯ]
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".^[5][6]
4. Primarily Turco-Tatars.^[9]
5. Primarily Tatars.^[9]