Armenians in Samtskhe–Javakheti are ethnic

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

of Georgian nationality living in the

Samtskhe–Javakheti Samtskhe–Javakheti ( ka, სამცხე-ჯავახეთი, , ) is a region (mkhare) in southern Georgia with a population of 151.110 (2021) and an area of . The region has Akhaltsikhe as its administrative center, while Besik Amirana ...

region of the

Republic of Georgia A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. The southern part of the region (

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Tur ...

) borders

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

to the south. Here, ethnic Armenians form the great majority of the population with minorities of

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

and

Caucasus Greeks The Caucasus Greeks ( el, Έλληνες του Καυκάσου or more commonly , tr, Kafkas Rum), also known as the Greeks of Transcaucasia and Russian Asia Minor, are the ethnic Greeks of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in what is now ...

. Among Armenians of Samtskhe–Javakheti, Armenian is the common language spoken.

History

The region known to Armenians as Javakhk has long been tied to the Kingdom of Armenia with an Armenian presence there being recorded for millennia. Many of the Armenians in the region today immigrated from Erzurum Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire after the area became part of Russia in 1829 while most of the Muslims (

Meskhetian Turk Meskhetian Turks, also referred to as Turkish Meskhetians, Ahiska Turks, and Turkish Ahiskans, ( ka, მესხეთის თურქები ''Meskhetis turk'ebi'') are an ethnic subgroup of Turks formerly inhabiting the Meskheti regio ...

s and

Adjarians The Adjarians ( ka, აჭარლები, Ačarlebi) are an ethnographic group of Georgians living mainly in Adjara in south-western Georgia and speaking the Adjarian dialect of the Georgian language. The Adjarians had their own terri ...

) in the region emigrated to the Ottoman Empire. More Armenians came to region later on as a result of Turkish massacres and the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

driven policy aimed to settle the Christian Armenians at the border of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, since they were enjoying the status of a reliable ally in contrast to the Muslim population. Ethnic Armenians are chiefly concentrated in

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...

and

Ninotsminda Ninotsminda (Georgian: ნინოწმინდა ; Armenian: Նինոծմինդա) is a town and a center of the eponymous municipality located in Georgia's southern district of Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to the 2014 census the town h ...

districts. At the beginning of 1918 in Akhalkalaki region had 120,000 population, from which

were 89,000 (74%),

Meskhetian Turks Meskhetian Turks, also referred to as Turkish Meskhetians, Ahiska Turks, and Turkish Ahiskans, ( ka, მესხეთის თურქები ''Meskhetis turk'ebi'') are an ethnic subgroup of Turks formerly inhabiting the Meskheti regio ...

were 8,000 (7%), representatives of other nationalities 23,000 (19%) During this period in Ahalkalak district there were 111 villages from which 66 were Armenian, 24 Turkish, 9

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, 10

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

(including former Armenian villages Vargav and Hzabavra, the population of which had assimilated with Georgians), and one village with the Armenian-Georgian mixed population. In 1944 the government of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

exiled the

ish population of

Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) (Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the ...

(approximately 100,000 person) to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

(

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

). The five villages of Sagamo, Khavet, Erindja, Davnia, and Karsep in the Akhalkalaki district and the Bogdanovka areas were settled by Armenians. During

Zviad Gamsakhurdia Zviad Konstantines dze Gamsakhurdia ( ka, ზვიად გამსახურდია, tr; russian: Звиа́д Константи́нович Гамсаху́рдия, Zviad Konstantinovich Gamsakhurdiya; 31 March 1939 – 31 December 1 ...

's presidency (1991), Javakheti remained ''de facto'' semi-independent and only in November 1991 the Tbilisi-appointed governor was able to take power. The issue of Javakheti was in the 1990s "clearly been perceived as the most dangerous potential ethnic conflict in Georgia", however, no actual armed conflict ever occurred. An incident took place in Akhalkalaki district on 14 August 1998. The Georgian military units were to hold exercises with the Russians in Akhalkalaki, and the local Armenian population was not told about it. The Georgians units entered the Armenian-populated areas and met some 25 Armenians, who "believed that the Georgian army was coming to deport Armenians from their homes". The group of Armenians were armed and allegedly had mortars and other artillery. The Georgian units eventually left, avoiding a possible clash with the armed men. According to the Georgian national security ministry was the incident was a provocation organized by the Javakhk organization. Vahagn Chakhalyan, the leader of United Javakhk, was arrested in 2008. Chakhalyan was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in 2009 for "acquisition and possession of firearms and ammunition, organizing a group action which grossly disrupted public order, hooliganism committed against a government representative." Chakhalyan was released from prison in January 2013 under amnesty law after

Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili ( ka, ბიძინა ივანიშვილი, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili ; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgia (country), Georgian politician, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who serv ...

and his Georgia Dream coalition came to power in Georgia.

Demographics

This table is a comparing table of Armenian population of Samtskhe–Javakheti in 1939, 1989, 2002, 2014.

Politics

Tensions in Samtskhe–Javakheti have run high at times. One reason is based in the official Georgian language policy that does, officially, not allow the

Armenian language Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken t ...

to be used in public or administrative offices, even if citizen and officer speak better Armenian than Georgian. International monitoring missions on the situation of national minorities in Georgia have critically commented in this aspect as recently as 2009. The ethnic Armenian

United Javakhk Democratic Alliance The United Javakhk Democratic Alliance ( hy, Միացյալ Ջավախք ժողովրդավարական դաշինք, translit=Miats’yal Javakhk’ Zhoghovrdavarakan dashink’) is a non-government organization composed of ethnic Armenians livin ...

calls on a local autonomy for Javakheti within Georgia. Some Armenian political groupings of

and the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

, among them most notably the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

(ARF) claim that

Javakhk Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Tu ...

(Armenian name for Javakheti) should belong to Armenia,

United Armenia United Armenia ( hy, Միացեալ Հայաստան, translit=Miats'eal Hayastan), also known as Greater Armenia or Great Armenia, is an Armenian ethno-nationalist irredentist concept referring to areas within the traditional Armenian homel ...

shall include all territories designated as Armenia by the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

as well as the regions of Artsakh (

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...

), Javakhk (Armenian name for Javakheti), and Nakhchivan. However, Javakhk (Javakheti) is not officially claimed by the government of Armenia. A small number of Turkish Meskhetians returned to Georgia in recent years. With little employment opportunities in the region, the re-migration caused tensions with the local Armenian population. In consequence, the Georgian authorities preferred to settle returning Turkish Meskhetians in other areas in the country. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline and South Caucasus gas pipeline which passed through the region, has met opposition from local Armenians, as well as the planned Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railway as it isolates Armenia.

Notable people

Jivani Jivani ( hy, Ջիվանի, 1846–1909), born Serob Stepani Levonian ( hy, Սերոբ Ստեփանի Լևոնյան; also known as Serovbe Stepani Benkoyan, hy, Սերովբե Ստեփանի Բենկոյան), was an Armenian ''Ashik, ashugh ...

(1846–1909), ''gusan'' (bard) and poet, born in Kartsakh village *

Stepan Malkhasyants Stepanos Sargsi Malkhasiants ( hy, Ստեփան Սարգսի Մալխասյանց; – July 21, 1947) was an Armenian academician, philologist, linguist, and lexicographer. An expert in classical Armenian literature, Malkhasiants wrote the cr ...

(1857–1947), academician, philologist, linguist, and lexicographer, born in Akhaltsikhe *

Hovhannes Katchaznouni Hovhannes Kajaznuni or Katchaznouni (; 14 February 1868 – 15 January 1938) was an Armenian architect and politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from June 6, 1918 to August 7, 1919. He was a member of ...

(1868–1938), the first Prime Minister of Armenia from 1918 to 1919, born in Akhaltsikhe *

Derenik Demirchian Derenik Karapeti Demirchian ( hy, Դերենիկ Կարապետի Դեմիրճյան) was a Soviet and Armenian writer, novelist, poet, translator and playwright. Biography Demirchian was born on February 18, 1877, in Akhalkalaki in what is no ...

(1877–1956), writer, born in

* Ruben Ter-Minasian (1882–1951), Defense Minister of Armenia in 1920, born in Akhalkalaki *

Hakob Kojoyan Hakob Kojoyan ( hy, Հակոբ Կոջոյան; December 13, 1883 – April 24, 1959) was an Armenian artist. He mostly worked in the genres of painting and applied art. Hakob Kojoyan assisted Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian in creating the ...

(1883–1959), prominent painter born in

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region (''mkhare'') of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is situated on both banks of a small river Potskhovi (a left ...

Vahan Terian Vahan Terian (; February 9, 1885 – January 7, 1920) was an Armenian poet, lyrist and public activist. He is known for his sorrowful, romantic poems, the most famous of which are still read and sung in their musical versions. Biography ...

(1885–1920), prominent poet, born in Gandza village *

Gregorio Pietro Agagianian Gregorio Pietro XV Agagianian (; anglicized: ''Gregory Peter''; Western hy, Գրիգոր Պետրոս ԺԵ. Աղաճանեան, ''Krikor Bedros ŽĒ. Aghajanian''; born Ghazaros Aghajanian, 15 September 1895 – 16 May 1971) was an Armeni ...

(1895–1971), Armenian Catholic Patriarch, Cardinal, papal candidate *

Gurgen Dalibaltayan Gurgen Harutyun Dalibaltayan ( hy, Գուրգեն Հարությունի Դալիբալթայան; 5 June 1926 – 1 September 2015) was an Armenian military commander. He was the Chief of General Staff of Armenian Armed Forces during the 1992 ...

(b. 1926), military commander, Colonel-General, born in

Karapet Chobanyan Karapet Chobanyan ( hy, Կարապետ Չոբանյան; born 25 February 1927 in Karzakh, Akhalkalaki, Georgia and died on 15 October 1978) was an Armenian scientist and engineer who discovered the phenomenon of Low-Stress in mechanics and develo ...

(1927–1978), scientist born in

Karzakh Kartsakhi ( ka, კარწახი, hy, Կարծախ) also spelled Kartsakh and Karzakh is a village in Akhalkalaki Municipality, Samtskhe–Javakheti, Georgia. It is located on the bank of Kartsakhi Lake, the second largest lake in the cou ...

village *

Lusine Zakaryan Lusine Zakaryan ( hy, Լուսինե Զաքարյան), born Svetlana Zakaryan ( hy, Սվետլանա Զաքարյան; June 1, 1937 – December 30, 1992), was an Armenian soprano. Zakaryan was born in Akhaltsikhe, Georgian SSR, and grew up in ...

(1937–1991), soprano, born in Akhaltsikhe *

Harutyun Khachatryan Harutyun Khachatryan ( hy, Հարություն Ռուբենի Խաչատրյան, russian: Арутюн Рубенович Хачатрян; born 9 January 1955) is an Armenian film director, script writer, director of photography, film producer ...

(b. 1955), film director, founder of the

Yerevan International Film Festival The ''Golden Apricot'' Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) ( hy, «Ոսկե Ծիրան» Երևանի միջազգային կինոփառատոն) is an annual film festival held in Yerevan, Armenia. The festival was founded in 2004 w ...

born in Akhalkalaki * Levon Khechoyan (1955-2014), writer, born in Baraleti village *

Vagharshak Harutiunyan Vagharshak Varnazi Harutiunyan ( hy, Վաղարշակ Վառնազի Հարությունյան; born 28 April 1956) is an Armenian military figure and politician currently serving as Armenia's ambassador to Russia. He previously served as the De ...

(b. 1956), Armenian Defence Minister from 1999 to 2000 born in

References

Sources

* *

External links

Javakhkh.com portal

Javakhk.net portalArarat Center's section: Javakhk: News, Facts and Analyses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenians In Samtskhe-Javakheti Armenian diaspora in Georgia (country) People from Samtskhe–Javakheti