Merkheuli

Merkheuli (Georgian: მერხეული [meɾχeuli]; Abkhaz: Мархьаул; Armenian: Մերխեուլ) is a village in Abkhazia, Georgia.^{[Note 1]} A 2011 census recorded a population of 839 people.

Merkheuli მერხეული, Мархьаул
Village
Merkheuli Show map of Georgia Merkheuli Show map of Abkhazia Merkheuli Show map of Gulripshi District
Coordinates: 42.991825°N 41.164296°E / 42.991825; 41.164296
Country	Georgia
Partially recognized independent country	Abkhazia[1]
District	Gulripshi
Population  (2011)
• Total	839
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+4

History

Fragments of Greek pottery, date back to the 6th century BC, have been found in the village.^[2]

Merkheuli was established in 1879.^[3]

Following the Armenian genocide, many Armenians resettled in Merkheuli, eventually becoming the majority ethnicity in the town.

Notable people

Lavrentiy Beria, chief of the NKVD from 1938 to 1945, was born in Merkheuli in 1899.

Population

Year of census	Population	Ethnic composition
1886[citation needed]	466	Russians (61.4%), Georgians (32.2%), Abkhazians (4.3%)
1926[citation needed]	3,827	Georgians (47.3%), Armenians (15.8%), Russians and Ukrainians (9.2%), Abkhazians (4.3%)
1959[citation needed]	3,076	Georgians, Armenians, Russians, Abkhazians (no specified percentages)
1989[citation needed]	3,939	Georgians, Armenians, Abkhazians (no specified percentages)
2011[4]	839	Armenians (76.3%), Georgians (9.4%), Abkhazians (8.6%), Russians (4.4%)

Climate

Merkheuli has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa.)

Climate data for Merkheuli
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Daily mean °C (°F)	5.1 (41.2)	5.9 (42.6)	8.8 (47.8)	12.4 (54.3)	16.9 (62.4)	20.5 (68.9)	23.3 (73.9)	23.6 (74.5)	20.3 (68.5)	16.2 (61.2)	11.5 (52.7)	7.6 (45.7)	14.3 (57.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	119 (4.7)	104 (4.1)	114 (4.5)	122 (4.8)	97 (3.8)	123 (4.8)	117 (4.6)	131 (5.2)	132 (5.2)	131 (5.2)	134 (5.3)	143 (5.6)	1,467 (57.8)
Source: Climate-Data.org[5]

See also

• Gulripshi District
• Merkheuli Palace

Note

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 de jure Georgian territory. Georgia continues to claim the area as its own territory, designating it as Russian-occupied territory.