Tiflis Governorate

The Tiflis Governorate was a province (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. The Tiflis Governorate bordered the Elizavetpol Governorate to the southeast, the Erivan Governorate to the south, the Kars Oblast to the southwest, the Batum Oblast to the west, the Kutaisi Governorate to the northwest, the Terek Oblast to the north, the Dagestan Oblast to the northeast, and after 1905, the Zakatal Okrug to the east. The governorate covered areas of central and southeastern Georgia, the partially recognised state of South Ossetia, most of the Lori Province of Armenia, small parts of northwestern Azerbaijan, and a minuscule southern part of Ingushetia within Russia. History Tiflis Governorate was established in 1846 along with the Kutaisi Governorate, after the dissolution of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate. It was initially formed from uezds of Tiflis, Gori, Telavi, Signakh, Elizavetpol, Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol and the okrugs of Zakatal, Ossetian and Tushino-Pshavo-Khevsurian. In 1849, uezds of Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol were attached to Erivan Governorate. In 1859, the Ossetian Okrug became part of Gori district and Tushino-Pshavo-Khevsurian Okrug was renamed to Tionety Okrug. In 1867, the northern part of Tiflis uezd was separated into the Dusheti uezd, while Akhaltsikhe uezd which was created after ceding from Ottoman Empire to Russian Empire in 1829, was detached from Kutaisi Governorate and part of Tiflis one. In 1868 Elizavetpol uezd (in the same decree, the Kazakh uezd was formed from it) became a part of the Elizavetpol Governorate. In 1874, the southern part of Akhaltsikhe uezd became the Akhalkalaki uezd, and the Tionety okrug was elevated to an uezd. Finally, the southern part of Tiflis uezd was detached to become the Borchaly uezd. The Tiflis Governorate lasted within these boundaries for some 50 years until the Russian Revolution and subsequent founding of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918. The governorate and its counties were soon abolished after its incorporation into the Soviet Union and reorganised into the raions (counties) of the Georgian SSR by 1930. Administrative divisions The counties (uezds) of the Tiflis Governorate in 1917 were as follows: