Zakatal Okrug

Zakatal Okrug

Закатальский округ
Zakatal Okrug Закатальский округ
	Coat of arms
	The Zakatal Okrug in the Caucasus Viceroyalty
	Coordinates: 41°38′1″N 46°38′36″E / 41.63361°N 46.64333°E
Country	Russia
Political status	Okrug
Region	Caucasus
Established	1859
Abolished	1918
Area
• Total	4,590 km2 (1,770 sq mi)
Population (1916)
• Total	92,608
• Density	20/km2 (52/sq mi)

The Zakatal Okrug, also known as Zakatali or Zakataly (Russian: Закатальский округ), was a special administrative okrug (county) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, part of the Tiflis Governorate from 1893 to 1905. The administrative centre of the district was the city Zakataly (Zaqatala), and it corresponded to most of the contemporary districts of Balakan, Zaqatala and Qax of Azerbaijan. The Zakatal Okrug was established from the territories of the erstwhile Free Jamaats of Jar-Balakan, bordering the Tiflis Governorate to the west, the Elisabethpol Governorate to the south and the Dagestan Oblast to the north. The district was unique in that it was the smallest independent (not part of any province or region) administrative unit of the Russian Empire, similarly to the Sukhumi Okrug.^[1]

History[]

The district was originally established under the name Belokan in 1842, within the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate, two years after it was renamed to Jaro-Belokan. The autonomous status of the district was confirmed in 1846, leading to its renaming to Zakataly in 1860 and its placement into the temporary administration of Dagestan during which its administration was organised into a military council, of which the chief was the head of the district, concurrently with Dagestan.^[2] In 1881, an independent administration was introduced. The Zakatal Okrug was incorporated into the 'civilian' administration of the Tiflis Governorate from 1893 until 1905 when was removed and placed directly under the Viceroy of the Caucasus.^[3]

The social structure of the Zakatal Okrug was multi-layered in its patriarchal-clans which were involved in "mountain feudalism", which became muddled by growing ethno-nationalism and the social differences they bore. The Free Jamaats (Society) peoples were the collective owners of the lands in which the Georgians and Azerbaijanis lived, for which the latter paid tax to them. In 1863, a rumor circulated that the administration of Zakataly was planning to emancipate the Georgians and Azerbaijanis from their financial obligations to the Free Jamaats peoples, leading to an anti-Russian uprising of its Dagestani inhabitants. The uprising became elevated by the declaration of jihad (holy war) until its suppression by local troops assisted by Azerbaijani volunteers.^[1]

Following the Russian Revolution, most of the district was incorporated into the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and transformed into the Zaqatala Governorate, despite also being claimed by neighboring Georgia, however, the authorities of both nations agreed to resolve the territorial dispute over Zakataly strictly by peaceful means.^[4]^[2]^[5]

Despite the Russian SFSR recognising the Zakatal Okrug as part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia by the Treaty of Moscow (1920), after the latter's Sovietization a mixed commission of Georgians, Azerbaijanis with a Russian chairman resolved the territorial dispute in favour of Soviet Azerbaijan. During the administrative-territorial reforms of the 1920s, the Zakataly district was separated into the raions of Balakan, Zaqatala and Qax.

Economy[]

The main occupations of the predominantly Sunni population included cattle breeding, agriculture, viticulture, picking fruits (mainly walnuts), handicrafts and silkworm breeding.^[1]

Administrative Divisions[]

The uchastoks (sub-counties) of the Zakatal Okrug were:^[6]^[1]

Aliabad (Russian: Алиабадский участок)
Kakh (Russian: Кахский участок)
Belokan (Russian: Белоканский участок)
Jaro-Mukhakh (Russian: Джаромухахский участок)

The so-called Gornye magaly (Mountain Quarters) along the headwaters of the Samur (Tsakhur villages) were removed from the district in 1860.

Demographics[]

As of 1897, 84,224 people populated the okrug: Avars constituted the majority of the population, with Azerbaijanis as the second largest ethnic group. Significant minorities consisted mainly of Ingiloy Georgians and Dargins.

Ethnic groups in 1897^[7][]

TOTAL	84,224	100%
Avars	31,670	37,6%
Azerbaijanis	28,950	34,4%
Georgians	12,389	14,7%

Caucasian Calendar of 1917[]

The 1917 Caucasian Calendar which produced statistics of 1916 indicates 92,608 residents in the Zakatal Okrug, including 48,323 men and 44,285 women, 86,128 of whom were the permanent population, and 6,480 were temporary residents:^[8]

Nationality	Center	Rural	TOTAL
Azerbaijanis^[a]	774	42,582	43,356	46.8%
North Caucasians^[b]	1,068	40,712	41,780	45.1%
Georgians^[c]	204	4,370	4,574	4.9%
Armenians	2,165	365	2,530	2.7%
Russians	270	56	326	0.4%
TOTAL	4,505	88,103	92,608	100.0%

Notes[]

^ Many assimilated Ingiloys were included in the number of Azerbaijanis.
^ Many Avars and Dargins were included in the number of North Caucasians.
^ Many Ingiloys were included in the number of Georgians.

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "ЗАКАТАЛЬСКИЙ ОКРУГ • Большая российская энциклопедия - электронная версия". bigenc.ru. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
^ ^a ^b Janeliże, Otʻar (2018). The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918-1921. Tbilisi. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-9941-8-0096-2. OCLC 1110424382.
^ Tsutsiev, Arthur (2014), Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus, New Haven and London, pp. 172–174, ISBN 978-0-300-15308-8, OCLC 884858065, retrieved 2021-12-16
^ Yilmaz, Harun (2009-06-01). "An Unexpected Peace: Azerbaijani–Georgian Relations, 1918–20". Revolutionary Russia. 22 (1): 37–67. doi:10.1080/09546540902900288. ISSN 0954-6545.
^ Daushvili, Aleko (2012-01-01). "The Democratic Republic of Georgia: Struggle for Independence 1918-1921". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ Кавказский календарь .... на 1913 год (in Russian). Tbilisi. pp. 271–317.
^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
^ Кавказский календарь .... на 1917 год (in Russian). pp. 357–358.

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[9] Many assimilated Ingiloys were included in the number of Azerbaijanis.

[10] Many Avars and Dargins were included in the number of North Caucasians.

[11] Many Ingiloys were included in the number of Georgians.

[:1-1] "ЗАКАТАЛЬСКИЙ ОКРУГ • Большая российская энциклопедия - электронная версия". bigenc.ru. Retrieved 2021-12-16.

[:2-2] Janeliże, Otʻar (2018). The Democratic Republic of Georgia, 1918-1921. Tbilisi. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-9941-8-0096-2. OCLC 1110424382.

[3] Tsutsiev, Arthur (2014), Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus, New Haven and London, pp. 172–174, ISBN 978-0-300-15308-8, OCLC 884858065, retrieved 2021-12-16

[4] Yilmaz, Harun (2009-06-01). "An Unexpected Peace: Azerbaijani–Georgian Relations, 1918–20". Revolutionary Russia. 22 (1): 37–67. doi:10.1080/09546540902900288. ISSN 0954-6545.

[5] Daushvili, Aleko (2012-01-01). "The Democratic Republic of Georgia: Struggle for Independence 1918-1921". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[:0-6] Кавказский календарь .... на 1913 год (in Russian). Tbilisi. pp. 271–317.

[7] "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". Demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2013-10-05.

[:02-8] Кавказский календарь .... на 1917 год (in Russian). pp. 357–358.

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v t Subdivisions of the Russian Empire
Governorates (List)	Azov¹ ² Arkhangelsk Archangelgorod* Astrakhan Bessarabia Caucasus Chernigov Grodno Finland Ingermanland Irkutsk Kazan Kaluga Kiev (1708) Kiev Kharkov Kherson Kholm Kovno Kostroma Kursk Lithuania Little Russia (1764) Little Russia (1796) Minsk Mogilev Moscow Nikolayev Nizhny Novgorod Novgorod Novorossiysk Olonets Orenburg Oryol Penza Perm Petrograd² Podolia Poltava Pskov Ryazan Samara Saint Petersburg Saratov Siberia* Simbirsk Sloboda Ukraine Slonim Smolensk Stavropol Taurida Tambov Tver Tobolsk Tomsk Tula Ufa Vilna Vitebsk Vladimir Vologda Volhynian Voronezh Vyatka Vyborg Yaroslavl Yekaterinoslav Yeniseysk
Oblasts	Amur Belostok Bessarabia Don Host Kamchatka Kwantung Primorskaya Taurida Turgay Ural
Oblasts of Stepnoy Krai	Akmolinsk Semipalatinsk
Oblasts of Turkestan Krai	Transcaspian Samarkand Semirechye Oblast Syr-Darya Oblast Fergana
Caucasus Viceroyalty	Baku Black Sea Derbent Elizavetpol Erivan Georgia-Imeretia Georgia Kutais Shemakha Tiflis Armenian Oblast Batum Oblast Dagestan Oblast Kars Oblast Kuban Oblast Terek Oblast Sukhum Okrug Zakatal Okrug Ozurget Uyezd Zugdidi Uyezd
Baltic Governorates³	Courland Livonia Reval Riga Estonia
Governorates of Finland	Abo-Byorneborg Vaza Vyborg Kuopio Nyuland Sankt-Mikhel Tavastgus Uleaborg
Governorates of Poland	Avgustov Varshava Kalish Keltsy Krakov Lomzha Lyublin Mazovia Petrokov Plotsk Podlyashye Radom Sandomir Sedlets Suvalki
Governorates of Galicia and Bukovina
Dependencies	Bukey Horde Emirate of Bukhara Khanate of Kokand Russian America Uryankhay Krai Khanate of Khiva
¹ Italics indicates renamed or abolished governorates, oblasts, etc on 1 January 1914. ² An asterisk (*) indicates governorates formed or created with renaming after 1 January 1914. ³ Ostsee or Baltic general-governorship was abolished in 1876.