Batumoblast Батумская область | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Administrative map of the Batum Oblast | |
| Coordinates:41°38′45″N41°38′30″E / 41.64583°N 41.64167°E /41.64583; 41.64167 | |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Viceroyalty | Caucasus |
| Established | 1873 |
| Treaty of Brest-Litovsk | 3 March 1918 |
| Capital | Batum (present-dayBatumi) |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,975.65 km2 (2,693.31 sq mi) |
| Population (1916) | |
• Total | 122,811 |
| • Density | 17.6057/km2 (45.5985/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 22.00% |
| • Rural | 78.00% |
TheBatumoblast[a] was a province (oblast) of theCaucasus Viceroyalty of theRussian Empire, with theBlack Sea port of Batum (present-dayBatumi) as its administrative center. The Batumoblast roughly corresponded to the present-dayAdjara autonomous region ofGeorgia, and most of theArtvin Province ofTurkey.[1]
The Batumoblast was created out of the territories of theOttoman Empire's sanjak of Batum following the region's annexation into theRussian Empire in the aftermath of the1878 Russo-Turkish War. Established in 1878, the Batum Oblast was later downgraded to an okrug in 1883 and incorporated into the Kutais Governorate (until 1903).
According to theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, theRussian SFSR ceded the Batum Oblast to the Ottoman Empire, however, theTranscaucasian Seim, the authority inTranscaucasia by 1918, rejected the treaty, opting to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire on its own terms. Such action led to the former's dissolution and the subsequentTreaty of Batum, which resulted in the inevitable reannexation of Batum to the Ottoman Empire.
After theMudros Armistice, in which the Ottoman Empire was forced to withdraw its troops from the territories of the formerRussian Transcaucasus including Batum,British troops under the27th Division occupied the district to support the British military presence in the Transcaucasus, and to serve as a terminal for supplyingDenikin'sVolunteer Army.
The Batum Oblast was finally evacuated by the British in the summer of 1920, and handed over to theDemocratic Republic of Georgia, whom administered the district until it was occupied byTurkish revolutionaries, leading to theTreaty of Kars which resulted in the partition of the district. The north including the port of Batum was retained byGeorgia as anautonomy, and the southern Artvin district was incorporated intoTurkey as theArtvin Province.
The districts (okrugs) of the Batumoblast in 1917 were as follows:[2][3]
| Name | Administrative centre | Population | Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 | 1916 | |||
| Artvin okrug (Артвинский округ) | Artvin | 56,140 | 37,414 | 2,875.06square versts (3,272.00 km2; 1,263.33 mi2) |
| Batumi okrug (Батумский округ) | Batum (Batumi) | 88,444 | 85,397 | 3,254.05square versts (3,703.31 km2; 1,429.86 mi2) |
According to theRussian Empire Census, the Batumoblast (at the time part of the Kutaisi Governorate) had a population of 144,584 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 82,213 men and 62,371 women. The plurality of the population indicatedGeorgian to be their mother tongue, with significantTurkish,Armenian andRussian speaking minorities.[2]
| Language | Native speakers | % |
|---|---|---|
| Georgian | 62,004 | 42.88 |
| Turkish | 44,667 | 30.89 |
| Armenian | 14,939 | 10.33 |
| Russian | 7,525 | 5.20 |
| Greek | 4,717 | 3.26 |
| Ukrainian | 2,351 | 1.63 |
| Kurdish | 1,811 | 1.25 |
| Jewish | 1,076 | 0.74 |
| Polish | 911 | 0.63 |
| Persian | 767 | 0.53 |
| Abkhazian | 693 | 0.48 |
| Mingrelian | 635 | 0.44 |
| German | 369 | 0.26 |
| Imeretian | 356 | 0.25 |
| Tatar[b] | 355 | 0.25 |
| Lithuanian | 157 | 0.11 |
| Sartic | 156 | 0.11 |
| Belarusian | 80 | 0.06 |
| Avar-Andean | 56 | 0.04 |
| Kazi-Kumukh | 47 | 0.03 |
| English | 38 | 0.03 |
| Ossetian | 29 | 0.02 |
| Romanian | 27 | 0.02 |
| Svan | 17 | 0.01 |
| Estonian | 11 | 0.01 |
| Other | 790 | 0.55 |
| ТОТАL | 144,584 | 100.00 |
According to the 1917 publication ofKavkazskiy kalendar, the Batumoblast had a population of 122,811 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 66,808 men and 56,003 women, 95,292 of whom were the permanent population, and 27,519 were temporary residents:[3]
| Nationality | Urban | Rural | TOTAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Georgians | 7,363 | 27.25 | 71,476 | 74.61 | 78,839 | 64.20 |
| Armenians | 10,975 | 40.62 | 4,217 | 4.40 | 15,192 | 12.37 |
| Sunni Muslims[c] | 75 | 0.28 | 14,267 | 14.89 | 14,342 | 11.68 |
| Russians | 5,042 | 18.66 | 3,503 | 3.66 | 8,545 | 6.96 |
| Asiatic Christians | 1,097 | 4.06 | 1,147 | 1.20 | 2,244 | 1.83 |
| Other Europeans | 855 | 3.16 | 120 | 0.13 | 975 | 0.79 |
| Shia Muslims[d] | 529 | 1.96 | 165 | 0.17 | 694 | 0.57 |
| North Caucasians | 476 | 1.76 | 180 | 0.19 | 656 | 0.53 |
| Jews | 597 | 2.21 | 10 | 0.01 | 607 | 0.49 |
| Kurds | 8 | 0.03 | 544 | 0.57 | 552 | 0.45 |
| Roma | 0 | 0.00 | 165 | 0.17 | 165 | 0.13 |
| TOTAL | 27,017 | 100.00 | 95,794 | 100.00 | 122,811 | 100.00 |
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