Elisabethpol Uyezd

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Elisabethpol Uyezd
Елизаветпольский уезд
Coat of arms of Elisabethpol Uyezd
Elisabethpol Uyezd of Elisabethpol Governorate.png
CountryRussia
Political statusUyezd
RegionCaucasus
Established1840
Abolished1929
Area
 • Total9,931 km2 (3,834 sq mi)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total272,477
 • Density27/km2 (71/sq mi)

The Elisabethpol Uyezd (Russian: Елизаветпольский уезд), also transliterated as Yelizabetpolskiy Uyezd, and known as Ganja Uyezd (Azerbaijani: Gəncə qəzası) was one of the uyezds (administrative units) of Elisabethpol Governorate of the Russian Empire and then of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Elisabethpol (Ganja) from 1840 until its formal abolition in 1929 by Soviet authorities.[1][2] The area of the Elisabethpol Uyezd corresponds to the contemporary Gadabay, Shamkir, Dashkasan, Goygol, Ganja Districts of Azerbaijan, and the Artsvashen enclave of Armenia.

Geography[]

The Elisabethpol Governorate as a whole consisted of the Elisabethpol, Nukha, Shusha, Zangezur, Kazakh, Aresh, Jebrail, and Jevanshir Uyezds.[3] The Elisabethpol uyezd was located in the northern part of Elisabethpol Governorate, bordering the Tiflis Governorate to the north, the Kazakh Uyezd to the west, the Aresh Uyezd to the east and Jevanshir Uyezd to the south. The administrative center of the uyezd was the city of Elisabethpol.

The area of the uyezd was 8,726 square verst and was divided into two parts: the northeastern lowlands steppes, irrigated by Kura River and its tributaries and southwestern mountainous part, watered by Kura's right bank tributaries. The lowland part was split by the Kura and Alazani rivers, the latter of which is not forested, less fertile and rarely used for farming. The mountainous part of the uyezd stretched up to the mountain range adjacent to Lake Sevan. The highest peaks of uyezd included Murovdag, (Azerbaijani: Murovdağ; 11,219 ft), Ginal-dag (Azerbaijani: Ginaldağ; 11,057 ft), Gyamysh (Azerbaijani: Gəmış; 12,263 ft), bordered Javanshir Uyezd of Elisabethpol Governorate and Novobayazet Uyezd of Erivan Governorate. The main rivers flowing down from these mountains into the lowland part of uyezd and discharging into Kura were Kuruk-chay, Ganja-chay, Qoshqara-chay, Shamkhor-chay.[2]

History[]

After establishment of Russian rule over the khanates of the South Caucasus and the implementation of administrative reforms, the territories of Ganja khanate were incorporated into the Tiflis Governorate of the Russian Empire. On 10 April 1840, the Elisabethpol Uyezd was established within Georgian-Imereti Governorate, and on 14 December 1846 it was incorporated into the newly created Tiflis Governorate. In 1868, the uyezd was reestablished within the newly founded Elisabethpol Governorate with its capital in Elisabethpol (present day Ganja).[4]

After establishment of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) in 1918, the uyezd was renamed to the Ganja Uyezd, then named back to the Elisabethpol Uyezd and then again to the Ganja Uyezd on 10 August 1918. On 22 April 1920, a part of Ganja Uyezd was established as the Shamkhor Uyezd within Azerbaijan.

With the Bolshevik takeover of Azerbaijan and subsequent establishment of Soviet rule, the uyezd was abolished on 8 April 1929 following an administrative reorganization of the region.[5]

Demographics[]

Russian Imperial Census of 1897[]

According to census held in 1897, the population of uyezd was 162,788, of which 103,970 were Turko-Tatars (modern-day Azerbaijanis), 43,040 were Armenians, 10,428 - Russians, 3,086 - Germans, 622 - Georgians, and other minorities.[6] The population was engaged primarily in agricultural farming, gardening, winemaking, corn and rice growing. Wine production in Azerbaijan was mostly seen in the city of Elisabethpol and German-populated town of Helenendorf where 450,000 canisters of wine were produced annually. In 1890, there were 107 factories and plants with a total number of workers at 2,136. There were two copper plants which produced 84% of the copper in Caucasus.[2]

Caucasian Calendar of 1917[]

The 1917 Caucasian Calendar which produced statistics of 1916 indicates 272,477 residents in the Elisabethpol Uyezd, including 140,113 men and 132,364 women, 239,688 of whom were the permanent population, and 32,789 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated Azerbaijanis to be the overwhelming majority of the population of the district, also indicating sizeable Armenian, Russian and German minorities:[7]

Area Russians Other

Europeans

Georgians Armenians North Caucasians Kurds Other Asian Nationalities Gypsies Jews TOTAL
Orthodox Sectarian Christian Shia Muslim Sunni Muslim
Elisabethpol 4,815 1,276 319 303 12,125 202 84 58 37,619 539 ... 391 57,731
Rural 4,529 7,824 6,093 154 56,589 250 ... 101 88,012 51,185 2 7 214,746
TOTAL 9,344 9,100 6,412 457 68,714 452 84 159 125,631 51,724 2 398 272,477
3.4% 3.3% 2.4% 0.2% 25.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.1% 46.1% 19.0% 0.0% 0.1% 100.0%

References[]

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elisavetpol (government)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 280; see final three lines. The government is divided into eight districts, Elisavetpol, Aresh, Jebrail, Jevanshir, Kazakh, Nukha, Shusha and Zangezur.
  2. ^ a b c "Большой энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона. Елизаветполь" [Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia Dictionary. Elisabethpol]. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  3. ^ "Административно-территориальные реформы на Кавказе в середине и во второй половине XIX века" [Administrative-territorial reforms in Caucasus in middle and second half of 19th century]. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  4. ^ "Presidential Library. Coats of Arms and Emblems". Retrieved 2011-08-10.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "АДМИНИСТРАТИВНО-ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОЕ ДЕЛЕНИЕ" [Administrative-territorial division] (PDF). Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  6. ^ "Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и уездам Российской Империи кроме губерний Европейской России" [First All Russian Imperial Census of 1897. Population split according to languages spoken; uyezds of Russian empire except for governorates in European part of empire]. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  7. ^ Кавказский календарь .... на 1917 год (in Russian). pp. 355–358.

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