# Kutaisi Governorate

The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except the Hopa and Yusufeli districts) of Turkey between 1878 and 1903. Created out of part of the former Georgia-Imeretia Governorate in 1846, the governorate also included Akhaltsikhe uezd before its cession to the Tiflis Governorate in 1867. The Kutaisi Governorate bordered the Sukhumi Okrug to the northwest, the Kuban Oblast to the north, the Terek Oblast to the northeast, the Tiflis Governorate to the southeast, the Batum Oblast to the southwest, and the Black Sea to the west. The governorate was eponymously named for its administrative center, Kutais (present-day Kutaisi).

## History

The Kutaisi Governorate was formed in 1846 as a result of the division of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate. In 1883, the governorate included the Sukhumi Okrug and two districts (Artvin and Batum) of the then-abolished Batum Oblast. In 1903, the Artvin and Batum districts were detached and re-formed into the Batum Oblast. In 1905, the Sukhumi Okrug also received the status of a special district of the Russian Empire, tantamount to a governorate or oblast.
Following the Russian Revolution, in 1918 the Kutaisi Governorate became part of the short-lived Georgian Democratic Republic.

## Administrative divisions

The counties (uezds) of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1917 were as follows:
| Name | Administrative centre | Administrative centre | Administrative centre | Population | Population | Area |
| Name | | 1897 | 1916 | 1897 | 1916 | Area |
| Zugdidi uezd (Зугдидскій уѣздъ) | Zugdid (Zugdidi) | 3,407 | 4,000 | 114,869 | 127,978 | 2,346.43 square versts (2,670.38 km$^2$; 1,031.04 sq mi) |
| Kutaisi uezd (Кутаисскій уѣздъ) | Kutais (Kutaisi) | 32,476 | 58,151 | 221,665 | 291,969 | 2,042.64 square versts (2,324.65 km$^2$; 897.55 sq mi) |
| Lechkhumi uezd (Лечхумскій уѣздъ) | Tsagery (Tsageri) | 687 | --- | 47,779 | 61,914 | 4,281.88 square versts (4,873.05 km$^2$; 1,881.49 sq mi) |
| Ozurgeti uezd (Озургетскій уѣздъ) | Ozurgety (Ozurgeti) | 4,710 | 11,198 | 90,326 | 115,339 | 1,899.04 square versts (2,161.23 km$^2$; 834.45 sq mi) |
| Racha uezd (Рачинскій уѣздъ) | Oni | 1,255 | --- | 60,421 | 88,162 | 2,476.58 square versts (2,818.50 km$^2$; 1,088.23 sq mi) |
| Senaki uezd (Сенакскій уѣздъ) | Senaki | 1,248 | --- | 115,785 | 159,678 | 1,869.20 square versts (2,127.27 km$^2$; 821.34 sq mi) |
| Shorapani uezd (Шорапанскій уѣздъ) | Kvirily (Zestaponi) | 2,010 | --- | 156,633 | 189,428 | 2,619.35 square versts (2,980.98 km$^2$; 1,150.96 sq mi) |

## Demographics
### Russian Empire census (1897)

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,058,241 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 549,504 men and 508,737 women. The majority of the populated indicated a Kartvelian language to be their mother tongue, principally comprising Georgian, Imeretian and Mingrelian.
Linguistic composition of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1897 :
| Language | Native speakers | % |
| Georgian | 343,929 | 32.50 |
| Imeretian | 270,513 | 25.56 |
| Mingrelian | 238,655 | 22.55 |
| Abkhaz | 59,469 | 5.62 |
| Turkish | 46,665 | 4.41 |
| Armenian | 24,043 | 2.27 |
| Russian | 19,273 | 1.82 |
| Svan | 15,669 | 1.48 |
| Greek | 14,482 | 1.37 |
| Jewish | 7,006 | 0.66 |
| Ossetian | 4,240 | 0.40 |
| Ukrainian | 4,008 | 0.38 |
| Polish | 1,938 | 0.18 |
| Kurdish | 1,824 | 0.17 |
| German | 1,065 | 0.10 |
| Persian | 1,022 | 0.10 |
| Tatar | 750 | 0.07 |
| Estonian | 621 | 0.06 |
| Lithuanian | 450 | 0.04 |
| Romanian | 197 | 0.02 |
| Belarusian | 162 | 0.02 |
| Sartic | 156 | 0.01 |
| Avar-Andean | 148 | 0.01 |
| English | 135 | 0.01 |
| Kazi-Kumukh | 111 | 0.01 |
| Other | 1,710 | 0.16 |
| TOTAL | 1,058,241 | 100.00 |
Religious composition of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1897 :
| Faith | Male | Female | Both | Both |
| Faith | Male | Female | Number | % |
| Eastern Orthodox | 462,243 | 438,687 | 900,930 | 85.13 |
| Muslim | 64,043 | 53,577 | 117,620 | 11.11 |
| Armenian Apostolic | 11,610 | 7,370 | 18,980 | 1.79 |
| Judaism | 4,674 | 4,190 | 8,864 | 0.84 |
| Armenian Catholic | 2,631 | 2,894 | 5,525 | 0.52 |
| Roman Catholic | 3,065 | 1,195 | 4,260 | 0.40 |
| Lutheran | 999 | 676 | 1,675 | 0.16 |
| Old Believer | 156 | 92 | 248 | 0.02 |
| Karaite | 29 | 17 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Reformed | 15 | 13 | 28 | 0.00 |
| Buddhist | 16 | 5 | 21 | 0.00 |
| Anglican | 12 | 6 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Baptist | 2 | 10 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Mennonite | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0.00 |
| Other Christian denomination | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Other non-Christian denomination | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 549,504 | 508,737 | 1,058,241 | 100.00 |

### Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Kutaisi Governorate had a population of 1,034,468 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 546,957 men and 487,511 women, 990,297 of whom were the permanent population, and 44,171 were temporary residents. The population total of the governorate is slightly less than in 1897 due to the province's administrative reorganization involving the detachment of the Artvin, Batum and Sukhumi okrugs (to be administered separately):
| Nationality | Urban | Urban | Rural | Rural | TOTAL | TOTAL |
| Nationality | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % |
| Georgians | 56,543 | 64.20 | 936,869 | 98.99 | 993,412 | 96.03 |
| Jews | 11,346 | 12.88 | 6,450 | 0.68 | 17,796 | 1.72 |
| Russians | 14,506 | 16.47 | 1,379 | 0.15 | 15,885 | 1.54 |
| Armenians | 3,416 | 3.88 | 1,189 | 0.13 | 4,605 | 0.45 |
| Asiatic Christians | 1,450 | 1.65 | 29 | 0.00 | 1,479 | 0.14 |
| Other Europeans | 654 | 0.74 | 328 | 0.03 | 982 | 0.09 |
| Sunni Muslims | 70 | 0.08 | 74 | 0.01 | 144 | 0.01 |
| Shia Muslims | 95 | 0.11 | 38 | 0.00 | 133 | 0.01 |
| North Caucasians | 0 | 0.00 | 32 | 0.00 | 32 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 88,080 | 100.00 | 946,388 | 100.00 | 1,034,468 | 100.00 |