NIKO NIKOLADZE AND RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION AS A FACTOR OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF KUTAISI
Authors:   Akaki Tsereteli State University, Lukhutashvili Nana 
Published: August 2023

From the second half of the 19th century, the Government of tsarist Russia, expressing the political and economic, first of all, military-strategic interests of its country, began the construction of a railway in Transcaucasia. The construction of the railway was also important for Georgia, it meant the victory of capitalist industry, its rapid development and the visible growth of local markets. Among the main cities of Georgia, only Kutaisi remained without the main line of the Transcaucasian railway. The article describes the contribution made by the great public figure, great Georgian N. Nikoladze to the construction of the railway in Kutaisi and the construction of the Kutaisi - Tkibuli railway line. From the 2nd half of the 19th century, the government of tsarist Russia, expressing the interests of its country's capitalism, started the construction of railways to Transcaucasia. This measure was aimed to transform Georgia and Transcaucasia into a key base of sales of products and a source of raw materials. The construction of the railway was also important for Georgia, and it meant the victory of capitalist industry, its rapid development and the exponential growth of local markets. The issue of railway construction in Kutaisi is closely connected with the name of a prominent public figure and great Georgian N. Nikoladze, who had not only talent of a painter, but also talent of an industrialist and a statesman. According to the original project, the Transcaucasian railway line was supposed to pass through: Senaki, Kutaisi, Kvirila and Gori, but during the construction, this project was changed for various reasons by society of capitalists constructing the road, and Kutaisi was bypassed by the main Transcaucasian line. It was withdrawn from the city at a distance of 8 miles. Naturally, this provoked the appropriate reaction of urban society, because all this severely shortened economic life of the city. In 1871, during the visit of Emperor Alexander II to Kutaisi, during a meeting with the Kutaisi community, the foundation was laid in the construction of a separate branch from Kutaisi to the Transcaucasian main line, which was completed in 1877, and the connecting point in Sarbevi was named “Rioni” instead of “Kutaisi” station. The Kutaisi-Rioni railway line, it was a useless and belated present for Kutaisi to compensate for the injustice made during the construction of the Transcaucasian Railway Line. After that, Kutaisi society had one hope left. Now the main thing was to make sure that the line of Tkibuli did not miss Kutaisi. The mentioned problem - the connection of the Tkibuli line with Kutasi - was solved as a result of N. Nikoladze's efforts. Despite the works accrued out, leaving Kutaisi without the main railway greatly complicated the political and economic situation of the civil administrative, military authorities, as well as the military, political and social state of the city, because Kutaisi was the most important city and the provincial center of western Georgia. The public of the city used every opportunity to resolve this issue positively, but all attempts ended with no result. At the early 900s, the construction of the Black Sea railway and establishing its line through Kutaisi is on the agenda. In 1936, the railway was constructed from Senaki to Sokhumi; Sokhumi was connected to Tbilisi and other cities, and in 1941-45, the Black Sea railway was laid and Kutaisi was connected by rail with Russia. The disconnection of Kutaisi from the main railroad had not only negative consequences. From today's perspective, it is probably a good thing that the main railroad does not pass through the city. In large cities, this causes significant discomfort that they manage by constructing the avoiding lines, and Kutaisi no longer needed to take care of such railroads, because the city itself has approached the Transcaucasian main railroad.