Bakuuezd Бакинский уезд | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Location in the Baku Governorate | |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Viceroyalty | Caucasus |
| Governorate | Baku |
| Established | 1840 |
| Abolished | 1929 |
| Capital | |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,970.59 km2 (1,146.95 sq mi) |
| Population (1916) | |
• Total | 16,268 |
| • Density | 5.4764/km2 (14.184/sq mi) |
| • Rural | 100.00% |
TheBakuuezd[a] was a county (uezd) within theBaku Governorate of theRussian Empire and then ofAzerbaijan Democratic Republic andAzerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929. Theuezd was located in the eastern part of the Baku Governorate, borderingCaspian Sea to the east,Shemakha uezd to the west,Kuba uezd to the north andLenkoran uezd to the south.[1] The administrative center of theuezd was the village Sarai (present-daySaray).[2]
After the capture of theBaku Khanate by the Russian Empire in 1806, during theCaucasus Campaign, the khanate was removed and was made a province of the Russian Empire. Theuezd was created in 1840 and was initially made part of theCaspian Oblast and later part of theShemakha Governorate in 1846. As a result of the devastatingearthquake in Shamakhi in 1859, the administrative center of the Shamakhi Governorate was transferred toBaku, resulting in the subsequent renaming of the governorate to theBaku Governorate.[2]
After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the area of modern-day Azerbaijan became part ofTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, during which the city of Baku and its peripheries were under the control of the Baku Commune which perpetrated theMarch Days Massacre against the Azerbaijani population ofBaku. Shortly after the dissolution of Transcaucasia and the establishment of 3 independent republics including theAzerbaijan Democratic Republic, Baku again became the site of massacre in the revengefulSeptember Days Massacre against the Armenian population, following theBattle of Baku and the city's capture byOttoman-Azerbaijani forces. Baku subsequently became the new capital of the nascent Azerbaijani republic, the government relocating there from its original western capital inGanja, which was also the capital of the neighboringElisabethpol Governorate.
In 1920, after the decisiveestablishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan, the Bakuuezd was retained as an administrative unit within theAzerbaijan SSR until its formal abolishment in 1929 during a territorial-administrative reorganisation of the nation.
The prefectures (участки,uchastki) of the Bakuuezd in 1917 were as follows:[3][4]
| Name | Administrative centre | 1912 population | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarainskiy prefecture (Сараинский участок) | Sarai (Saray) | 26,059 | 2,610.22square versts (2,970.59 km2; 1,146.95 mi2) |
According to theRussian Empire Census, the Bakuuezd had a population of 182,897 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 108,448 men and 74,449 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar[b] to be their mother tongue, with significantRussian,Tat, andArmenian speaking minorities.[7]
| Language | Native speakers | % |
|---|---|---|
| Tatar[b] | 63,415 | 34.67 |
| Russian | 43,893 | 24.00 |
| Tat | 34,503 | 18.86 |
| Armenian | 22,583 | 12.35 |
| Persian | 4,774 | 2.61 |
| German | 3,204 | 1.75 |
| Jewish | 2,034 | 1.11 |
| Kyurin | 1,235 | 0.68 |
| Georgian | 1,127 | 0.62 |
| Ukrainian | 981 | 0.54 |
| Avar-Andean | 737 | 0.40 |
| Polish | 982 | 0.54 |
| Turkish | 837 | 0.46 |
| Belarusian | 636 | 0.35 |
| Mordovian | 353 | 0.19 |
| Swedish | 345 | 0.19 |
| Greek | 249 | 0.14 |
| Kazi-Kumukh | 128 | 0.07 |
| Lithuanian | 115 | 0.06 |
| Talysh | 3 | 0.00 |
| Other | 763 | 0.42 |
| TOTAL | 182,897 | 100.00 |
According to the 1917 publication ofKavkazskiy kalendar, the Bakuuezd had a population of 16,268 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 8,759 men and 7,509 women, 15,746 of whom were the permanent population, and 522 were temporary residents:[8]
| Nationality | Number | % |
|---|---|---|
| Shia Muslims[c] | 15,746 | 96.79 |
| Russians | 355 | 2.18 |
| Sunni Muslims[d] | 93 | 0.57 |
| Armenians | 32 | 0.20 |
| Georgians | 30 | 0.18 |
| Jews | 12 | 0.07 |
| TOTAL | 16,268 | 100.00 |
The population of theuezd rose significantly to 527,220 people by 1926 as a result of the significant expansion of theBaku Oil Fields.[10]