 samtredia () is a town in imereti, georgia, lying in a lowland between the rivers rioni and tskhenis-tsqali,  west of tbilisi, and  west of kutaisi, the nationâs capital and the second largest city respectively. georgiaâs most important roads and railways converge there, making samtredia the countryâs vital transport hub. the kopitnari airport is also located in  from samtredia. the town's population is 29,694 as of the 2002 all-georgia census. the climate is humid subtropical, with mild and warm winters and hot summers.samtredia municipality. imereti regional administration. accessed on may 1, 2008. samtredia evolved as a town from a crucial railway junction in the 1870s and acquired a town status in 1921. under the soviet rule, it was industrialized for the production of food and wood. due to its strategic location, samtredia played a prominent role in the civil unrest early in the 1990s. in a high-profile incident, from july 26 to 31 1990, the samtredia junction was blocked by anti-soviet opposition groups which forced, in this way, the soviet georgian leadership to adopt a liberal election code.jonathan wheatley (2005), georgia from national awakening to rose revolution: delayed transition in the former soviet union, p. 52. ashgate publishing, ltd., isbn 0-7546-4503-7. the junction was again blocked, this time by the new government of zviad gamsakhurdia, in marchâapril 1991 in an attempt to exert pressure on the central soviet authorities. this blockade, however, inflicted a heavy damage to the economy of georgia and the neighboring republic of armenia which was largely dependent on georgiaâs railways. later in 1993, samtredia became one of the major battlegrounds in the [[georgian civ
Cities_and_towns_in_Imereti