Kutaisi Governorate Кутаисская губернія | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
.png) Administrative map of the Kutaisi Governorate (1905–17) | |
| Country | Russian Empire |
| Viceroyalty | Caucasus |
| Established | 1849 |
| Abolished | 1917 |
| Capital | Kutais (present-dayKutaisi) |
| Area | |
• Total | 19,956.06 km2 (7,705.08 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation (Shkhara) | 5,193 m (17,037 ft) |
| Population (1916) | |
• Total | 1,034,468 |
| • Density | 51.83729/km2 (134.2580/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 8.51% |
| • Rural | 91.49% |
TheKutaisi orKutais Governorate[a] was a province (guberniya) of theCaucasus Viceroyalty of theRussian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of westernGeorgia throughout most of its existence, and most of theArtvin Province (except theHopa andYusufeli districts) of Turkey between 1878 and 1903. Created out of part of the formerGeorgia-Imeretia Governorate in 1846, the governorate also includedAkhaltsikhe uezd before its cession to theTiflis Governorate in 1867. The Kutaisi Governorate bordered theSukhumi Okrug to the northwest, theKuban Oblast to the north, theTerek Oblast to the northeast, the Tiflis Governorate to the southeast, theBatum Oblast to the southwest, and theBlack Sea to the west. The governorate was eponymously named for its administrative center, Kutais (present-dayKutaisi).[1]
The Kutaisi Governorate was formed in 1846 as a result of the division of theGeorgia-Imeretia Governorate. In 1883, the governorate included the Sukhumi Okrug and two districts (Artvin and Batum) of the then-abolished Batum Oblast. In 1903, the Artvin and Batum districts were detached and re-formed into the Batum Oblast. In 1905, the Sukhumi Okrug also received the status of a special district of the Russian Empire, tantamount to a governorate or oblast.[1]
Following theRussian Revolution, in 1918 the Kutaisi Governorate became part of the short-livedGeorgian Democratic Republic.[1]
The counties (uezds) of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1917 were as follows:[2]
| Name | Administrative centre | Population | Area | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897[3] | 1916[4] | 1897 | 1916 | |||
| Zugdidi uezd (Зугдидскій уѣздъ) | Zugdid (Zugdidi) | 3,407 | 4,000 | 114,869 | 127,978 | 2,346.43square versts (2,670.38 km2; 1,031.04 mi2) |
| Kutaisi uezd (Кутаисскій уѣздъ) | Kutais (Kutaisi) | 32,476 | 58,151 | 221,665 | 291,969 | 2,042.64square versts (2,324.65 km2; 897.55 mi2) |
| Lechkhumi uezd (Лечхумскій уѣздъ) | Tsagery (Tsageri) | 687 | --- | 47,779 | 61,914 | 4,281.88square versts (4,873.05 km2; 1,881.49 mi2) |
| Ozurgeti uezd (Озургетскій уѣздъ) | Ozurgety (Ozurgeti) | 4,710 | 11,198 | 90,326 | 115,339 | 1,899.04square versts (2,161.23 km2; 834.45 mi2) |
| Racha uezd (Рачинскій уѣздъ) | Oni | 1,255 | --- | 60,421 | 88,162 | 2,476.58square versts (2,818.50 km2; 1,088.23 mi2) |
| Senaki uezd (Сенакскій уѣздъ) | Senaki | 1,248 | --- | 115,785 | 159,678 | 1,869.20square versts (2,127.27 km2; 821.34 mi2) |
| Shorapani uezd (Шорапанскій уѣздъ) | Kvirily | 2,010 | --- | 156,633 | 189,428 | 2,619.35square versts (2,980.98 km2; 1,150.96 mi2) |
According to theRussian Empire Census, the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,058,241 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 549,504 men and 508,737 women. The majority of the populated indicated aKartvelian language to be their mother tongue, principally comprisingGeorgian,Imeretian andMingrelian.[5]
| Language | Native speakers | % |
|---|---|---|
| Georgian | 343,929 | 32.50 |
| Imeretian[b] | 270,513 | 25.56 |
| Mingrelian | 238,655 | 22.55 |
| Abkhaz | 59,469 | 5.62 |
| Turkish | 46,665 | 4.41 |
| Armenian | 24,043 | 2.27 |
| Russian | 19,273 | 1.82 |
| Svan | 15,669 | 1.48 |
| Greek | 14,482 | 1.37 |
| Jewish | 7,006 | 0.66 |
| Ossetian | 4,240 | 0.40 |
| Ukrainian | 4,008 | 0.38 |
| Polish | 1,938 | 0.18 |
| Kurdish | 1,824 | 0.17 |
| German | 1,065 | 0.10 |
| Persian | 1,022 | 0.10 |
| Tatar[c] | 750 | 0.07 |
| Estonian | 621 | 0.06 |
| Lithuanian | 450 | 0.04 |
| Romanian | 197 | 0.02 |
| Belarusian | 162 | 0.02 |
| Sartic | 156 | 0.01 |
| Avar-Andean | 148 | 0.01 |
| English | 135 | 0.01 |
| Kazi-Kumukh | 111 | 0.01 |
| Other | 1,710 | 0.16 |
| TOTAL | 1,058,241 | 100.00 |
| Faith | Male | Female | Both | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | |||
| Eastern Orthodox | 462,243 | 438,687 | 900,930 | 85.13 |
| Muslim | 64,043 | 53,577 | 117,620 | 11.11 |
| Armenian Apostolic | 11,610 | 7,370 | 18,980 | 1.79 |
| Judaism | 4,674 | 4,190 | 8,864 | 0.84 |
| Armenian Catholic | 2,631 | 2,894 | 5,525 | 0.52 |
| Roman Catholic | 3,065 | 1,195 | 4,260 | 0.40 |
| Lutheran | 999 | 676 | 1,675 | 0.16 |
| Old Believer | 156 | 92 | 248 | 0.02 |
| Karaite | 29 | 17 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Reformed | 15 | 13 | 28 | 0.00 |
| Buddhist | 16 | 5 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Anglican | 12 | 6 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Baptist | 2 | 10 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Mennonite | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Other Christian denomination | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Other non-Christian denomination | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 549,504 | 508,737 | 1,058,241 | 100.00 |
According to the 1917 publication ofKavkazskiy kalendar, the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,034,468 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 546,957 men and 487,511 women, 990,297 of whom were the permanent population, and 44,171 were temporary residents. The population total of the governorate is slightly less than in 1897 due to the province's administrative reorganization involving the detachment of the Artvin, Batum and Sukhumi okrugs (to be administered separately):[2]
| Nationality | Urban | Rural | TOTAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Georgians | 56,543 | 64.20 | 936,869 | 98.99 | 993,412 | 96.03 |
| Jews | 11,346 | 12.88 | 6,450 | 0.68 | 17,796 | 1.72 |
| Russians | 14,506 | 16.47 | 1,379 | 0.15 | 15,885 | 1.54 |
| Armenians | 3,416 | 3.88 | 1,189 | 0.13 | 4,605 | 0.45 |
| Asiatic Christians | 1,450 | 1.65 | 29 | 0.00 | 1,479 | 0.14 |
| Other Europeans | 654 | 0.74 | 328 | 0.03 | 982 | 0.09 |
| Sunni Muslims[d] | 70 | 0.08 | 74 | 0.01 | 144 | 0.01 |
| Shia Muslims[e] | 95 | 0.11 | 38 | 0.00 | 133 | 0.01 |
| North Caucasians | 0 | 0.00 | 32 | 0.00 | 32 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 88,080 | 100.00 | 946,388 | 100.00 | 1,034,468 | 100.00 |
42°15′00″N42°42′00″E / 42.2500°N 42.7000°E /42.2500; 42.7000
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