Borchaly Uezd

The Borchaly ''uezd'' was a county (''uezd'') of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and later of the independent and Soviet republics of Georgia. Its administrative center was the town of Shulavery (present-day Shaumiani). The area of the county roughly corresponded to the contemporary Lori Province of Armenia and the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia.

History

The Debed river, formerly known as the ''Borchala'' (), gave the name of the ''uezd'', however, the region was also known as ''Borchalo'' (ბორჩალო) in Georgian, ''Borchalu'' (Բորչալու) in Armenian, and ''Borchali'' () in Azerbaijani. The Turkic locals were resettled to the Debed river valley through the policy of Shah Abbas I (1571-1629) after his successful campaigns against the Kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti that led to the formation of several Qizilbash khanates. The region was later reincorporated into the Kingdom of Kartli in the 18th century, subsequently being incorporated into the Kartli-Kakheti monarchy in 1762. In 1801, through Russia's annexation of eastern Georgia, Borchaly became part of Russia's Georgia Governorate, which was eventually transformed to become the Tiflis Governorate.

Following the Russian Revolution and the short-lived independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the First Republic of Armenia, the Borchaly ''uezd'' became the site of a 2-week-war between the two countries in December 1918, until its British-brokered ceasefire starting 1 January 1919. Most of northern Lori centered around Alaverdi was transformed into a neutral zone and patrolled by British troops of the 27th Division, until their mid-1919 withdrawal. Armenian and Georgian troops replaced the British forces in the neutral zone following the latter's withdrawal. The Armenians later complaining that the Georgian force was unsuccessfully trying to convince Tatar and Russian villages in the neutral zone to agree to join Georgia.

In late 1920, the neutral zone of Lori and the southernmost section of the Lori Uchastok which had been annexed to Armenia was with their permission reincorporated into Georgia for the safety of its inhabitants as a result of the Turkish-Armenian War. Georgia continued to administer the reunited Borchaly ''uezd'' until its Sovietization and the district's partition between the newly-formed Armenian and Georgian Soviet republics.

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (''uchastoks'') of the Borchaly ''uezd'' in 1913 were as follows:

Demographics

1897 Russian census

According to the 1897 Russian Empire census, the Borchaly ''uezd'' had a population of 128,587 on , including 70,501 men and 58,086 women. The plurality of the population indicated Armenian to be their mother tongue, with significant Tatar, Greek, Russian, and Georgian speaking minorities.

''Kavkazskiy kalendar''

According to the 1917 publication of ''Kavkazskiy kalendar'', the Borchaly ''uezd'' had a population of 169,351 on , including 89,040 men and 80,311 women, 160,447 of whom were the permanent population, and 8,904 were temporary residents:

See also

*History of the administrative division of Russia

Notes

References

Bibliography

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Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)
Tiflis Governorate
Uezds of Tiflis Governorate
Modern history of Georgia (country)
1880 establishments in the Russian Empire
States and territories established in 1880
States and territories disestablished in 1918