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Elizavetpol Governorate

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The Elizavetpol Governorate,[a] also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate,[b] was a province (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate stretched 38,922.43 square versts (44,296.15 square kilometres; 17,102.84 square miles) and was composed of 1,275,131 inhabitants in 1916. The Elizavetpol Governorate bordered the Erivan Governorate to the west, the Tiflis Governorate and Zakatal Okrug to the north, the Dagestan Oblast to the northeast, the Baku Governorate to the east, and Iran to the south.

Elizavetpol Governorate
Елисаветпольская губернія
Governorate
Coat of arms of Elizavetpol Governorate
Coat of arms
Administrative map of the Elizavetpol Governorate
Administrative map of the Elizavetpol Governorate
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
Established1867
Abolished1920
CapitalYelisavetpol
(present-day Ganja)
Area
 • Total44,296.15 km2 (17,102.84 sq mi)
Highest elevation
(Mount Bazardüzü)
4,466 m (14,652 ft)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total1,275,131
 • Density29/km2 (75/sq mi)
 • Urban
12.24%
 • Rural
87.76%

Geography

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The area of the governorate includes the southern slope of the main Caucasus range in the northeast, where Mount Bazardüzü and other peaks rise above the snow-line; the arid steppes beside the Kura river, reaching 1000 ft. of altitude in the west and sinking to 100–200 ft. in the east, where irrigation is necessary; and the northern slopes of the Transcaucasian escarpment and portions of the Armenian Highlands, which is intersected towards its western boundary, near Lake Sevan, by chains of mountains consisting of trachytes and various crystalline rocks.[1]

Elsewhere the country has the character of a plateau, 7,000 to 8,000 ft. high, deeply trenched by tributaries of the Aras. All varieties of climate are found in the snowclad peaks, Alpine meadows, and stony deserts of the high levels, to that of the hill slopes and of the arid Caspian steppes.[1]

History

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Elizavetpol Governorate was created by the decree "On the transformation of the administration of the Caucasian and Transcaucasian region" dated December 9, 1867.[2] The province included the Elizavetpol uezd of the Tiflis Governorate, the Nukha and Shusha uezds of the Baku Governorate and part of the abolished Ordubad uezd.[3] By the same decree, the Kazakh and Zangezur uezds were formed as part of the province. In 1873, three new uezds were formed in the Governorate - Aresh, Jebrail and Jevanshir.[4] The governorate included lands of the former Ganja Khanate, Shaki Khanate, and Karabakh Khanate. It bordered with Baku Governorate, Tiflis Governorate, Erivan Governorate, Dagestan Oblast, and Persia.

From 1905, there were attempts by Armenian intelligentsia of the Russian Empire to separate the highland areas (commonly known as Mountainous Karabakh) from the rest of Elizavetpol into a zemstvo (self-governing rural community) province.

On the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in May 1918, the Elizavetpol Governorate was renamed Ganja Governorate to de-Russify the region. The neighboring Democratic Republic of Armenia claimed the entirety of the western highland sections of the governorate which as a whole formed a small Armenian majority, however, Armenian control did not exceed the western parts of Zangezur, Kazakh and Karabakh. In 1919, the entirety of Karabakh south of the Murov Range with British support was separated into the Karabakh General Governorship, following the subjugation of the Karabakh Armenian Council.

The governorate provincial system was abolished in the early 1920s after the Sovietization of Azerbaijan. In early 1921—after the Sovietization of Armenia—a Dashnak Armenian revolt that spawned in Yerevan spread to the Zangezur uezd, becoming known as the Republic of Mountainous Armenia. The rebels led by Garegin Nzhdeh finally departed Zangezur in the summer of 1921 after receiving guarantees the district would remain part of Soviet Armenia.

In the present-day, the territory of the former Elizavetpol Governorate forms the bulk of western Azerbaijan and adjacent areas of northeastern and southeastern Armenia.

Administrative divisions

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The counties (uezds) of the Elizavetpol Governorate in 1917 were as follows:[5]

Name Administrative centre Population Area
1897[6] 1916[7] 1897 1916
Aresh uezd (Арешскій уѣздъ) Aresh (Agdash) 528 --- 67,277 99,400 2,318.16 square versts (2,638.21 km2; 1,018.62 sq mi)
Jevanshir uezd (Джеванширскій уѣздъ) Terter (Tartar) 752 --- 72,719 75,730 4,654.06 square versts (5,296.61 km2; 2,045.03 sq mi)
Elizavetpol uezd (Елисаветпольскій уѣздъ) Yelisavetpol (Ganja) 33,625 57,731 162,788 272,477 8,726.00 square versts (9,930.73 km2; 3,834.28 sq mi)
Zangezur uezd (Зангезурскій уѣздъ) Gerusy (Goris) 1,450 2,201 137,871 226,398 6,742.92 square versts (7,673.86 km2; 2,962.89 sq mi)
Kazakh uezd (Казахскій уѣздъ) Kazakh (Qazax) 1,769 --- 112,074 137,049 5,096.52 square versts (5,800.16 km2; 2,239.45 sq mi)
Karyagino uezd (Карягинскій уѣздъ) Karyagino (Fuzuli) --- 66,360 89,584 3,276.81 square versts (3,729.21 km2; 1,439.86 sq mi)
Jebrayil 520 ---
Nukha uezd (Нухинскій уѣздъ) Nukha (Shaki) 24,734 52,243 120,555 185,748 3,685.03 square versts (4,193.79 km2; 1,619.23 sq mi)
Shusha uezd (Шушинскій уѣздъ) Shusha 25,881 43,869 138,771 188,745 4,423.28 square versts (5,033.97 km2; 1,943.63 sq mi)

Demographics

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The 1886 population estimate was 728,943, living in 3 cities (Elizavetpol, Nukha, and Shusha) and 1521 villages.[8] According to 1886 statistics reported in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary,[8] the Orthodox Christians constituted 0.21% of the Governorate's population, and various sektanty ("sectarians") around 1% (~7,300 people). This means that most of the ethnic Russians in the governorate at the time (1.11% of the Governorate's 728,943 population in 1886) were members of various sectarian communities such as Doukhobors and Molokans.

Russian Empire Census

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According to the Russian Empire Census, the Elizavetpol Governorate had a population of 878,415 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 34,776 men and 22,702 women. The majority of the population indicated Tatar[c] to be their mother tongue, with a significant Armenian speaking minority.[11]

Linguistic composition of the Elizavetpol Governorate in 1897[11]
Language Native speakers %
Tatar[c] 534,086 60.80
Armenian 292,188 33.26
Kyurin 14,503 1.65
Russian 14,146 1.61
Udi 7,040 0.80
German 3,194 0.36
Kurdish 3,042 0.35
Belarusian 2,868 0.33
Tat 1,753 0.20
Georgian 1,239 0.14
Ukrainian 861 0.10
Polish 616 0.07
Kazi-Kumukh 581 0.07
Greek 558 0.06
Avar-Andean 461 0.05
Persian 338 0.04
Jewish 185 0.02
Lithuanian 116 0.01
Romanian 106 0.01
Other 534 0.06
TOTAL 878,415 100.00
Religious composition of the Elizavetpol Governorate in 1897[12]
Faith Male Female Both
Number %
Muslim 308,927 243,895 552,822 62.93
Armenian Apostolic 155,257 143,428 298,685 34.00
Eastern Orthodox 7,150 3,279 10,429 1.19
Old Believer 4,907 4,600 9,507 1.08
Judaism 1,013 1,017 2,030 0.23
Lutheran 1,605 1,616 3,221 0.37
Roman Catholic 685 183 868 0.10
Baptist 382 329 711 0.08
Armenian Catholic 68 37 105 0.01
Reformed 6 9 15 0.00
Anglican 5 6 11 0.00
Buddhist 1 1 2 0.00
Karaite 0 1 1 0.00
Mennonite 1 0 1 0.00
Other Christian denomination 1 2 3 0.00
Other non-Christian denomination 4 0 4 0.00
TOTAL 480,012 398,403 878,415 100.00

Linguistic composition of uezds in the Tiflis Governorate in 1897[13]

Uezd Tatar Armenian Lezgian Russian Udi TOTAL
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Aresh 47,133 70.06 13,822 20.54 5,997 8.91 155 0.23 4 0.01 67,277
Jevanshir 52,041 71.56 19,551 26.89 84 0.12 206 0.28 0 0.00 72,719
Elizavetpol 103,970 63.87 43,040 26.44 246 0.15 7,224 4.44 4 0.00 162,788
Zangezur 71,206 51.65 63,622 46.15 7 0.01 841 0.61 0 0.00 137,871
Kazakh 64,101 57.2 43,555 38.86 4 0.00 3,373 3.01 0 0.00 112,074
Nukha 83,578 69.33 18,899 15.68 8,740 7.25 196 0.16 7,030 5.83 120,555
Shusha 62,868 45.3 73,953 53.29 1 0.00 1,442 1.04 2 0.00 138,771
TOTAL 534,086 60.8 292,188 33.26 15,084 1.72 14,146 1.61 7,040 0.8 878,415

Kavkazskiy kalendar

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According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Elizavetpol Governorate had a population of 1,275,131 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 676,377 men and 598,754 women, 1,213,626 of whom were the permanent population, and 61,505 were temporary residents.[5]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Shia Muslims[d] 66,500 42.62 411,434 36.77 477,934 37.48
Armenians 45,254 29.00 373,605 33.38 418,859 32.85
Sunni Muslims[e] 34,405 22.05 270,726 24.19 305,131 23.93
Russians 8,111 5.20 28,666 2.56 36,777 2.88
North Caucasians 493 0.32 10,673 0.95 11,166 0.88
Asiatic Christians 58 0.04 10,808 0.97 10,866 0.85
Other Europeans 367 0.24 7,048 0.63 7,415 0.58
Kurds 84 0.05 3,718 0.33 3,802 0.30
Jews 406 0.26 1,706 0.15 2,112 0.17
Georgians 366 0.23 664 0.06 1,030 0.08
Roma 0 0.00 39 0.00 39 0.00
TOTAL 156,044 100.00 1,119,087 100.00 1,275,131 100.00

Known governors

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  • Fokion Bulatov, 1868–1876
  • Alexander Nakashidze, 1880–1897
  • Ivan Kireyev, 1897–1900
  • Nikolai Lutsau, 1900–1905
  • Yegor Baranovsky, 1905 (acting)
  • Alexander Kalachev, 1905–1907
  • Samkalov, 1907–1908
  • Georgi Kovalev, 1908–1916
  • Mikhail Poyarkov, 1916–1917[15]

Notes

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  1. ^
    • Russian: Елисаветпо́льская губе́рнія, romanized: Yelisavetpólskaya gubérniya
    • Azerbaijani: الیساوتوپل غوبیرنیاسی, romanized: Elīsāvetopol ğūbernīyāsı
    • Armenian: Ելիզավետպոլի նահանգ, romanized: Elizavetpoli nahang
  2. ^
  3. ^ a b Before 1918, Azerbaijanis were generally known as "Tatars". This term, employed by the Russians, referred to Turkic-speaking Muslims of the South Caucasus. After 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".[9][10]
  4. ^ Primarily Tatars.[14]
  5. ^ Primarily Turco-Tatars.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Elisavetpol". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 280.
  2. ^ Полное собрание законов Российской империи. Собр. 2-е. Т. XLII. Ч. 2. Ст. 45259.
  3. ^ Azərbaycan Xalq Cümhuriyyəti Ensiklopediyası: I cild. pp. 420–423.
  4. ^ Мильман А. Ш. (1966). Политический строй Азербайджана в XIX — начале XX веков (административный аппарат и суд, формы и методы колониального управления). Баку: Азернешр. p. 157.
  5. ^ a b Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 190–197.
  6. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  7. ^ Кавказский календарь .... на 1917 год (in Russian).
  8. ^ a b Елизаветпольская губерния (Elizavetpol Governorate) in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian)
  9. ^ Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  10. ^ Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  11. ^ a b "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  12. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  13. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  14. ^ a b Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.
  15. ^ Lands of Ganja Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

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40°40′58″N 46°21′38″E / 40.6828°N 46.3606°E / 40.6828; 46.3606

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