page_title: Tbilisi
section_title: Politics and administration
hierarchical_section_title: Tbilisi / Politics and administration
caption_attribution_description: Freedom square, Tbilisi and the city hall
context_page_description: Tbilisi, in some countries also still known by its pre-1936 international designation, Tiflis, is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million people. Tbilisi was founded in the 5th century AD by Vakhtang I of Iberia, and since then has served as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Between 1801 and 1917, then part of the Russian Empire, Tbilisi was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy, governing both Southern and Northern Caucasus.
  Because of its location on the crossroads between Europe and Asia, and its proximity to the lucrative Silk Road, throughout history Tbilisi was a point of contention among various global powers. The city's location to this day ensures its position as an important transit route for energy and trade projects. Tbilisi's history is reflected in its architecture, which is a mix of medieval, neoclassical, Beaux Arts, Art Nouveau, Stalinist and the Modern structures.
  Historically, Tbilisi has been home to people of multiple cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, though it is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox Christian.
context_section_description: The status of Tbilisi, as the nation's capital, is defined by the Article 10 in the Constitution of Georgia (1995) and the Law on Georgia's Capital – Tbilisi (20 February 1998).
  Tbilisi is governed by the Tbilisi City Assembly (Sakrebulo) and the Tbilisi City Hall (Meria). The City Assembly is elected once every four years. The mayor is elected once every four years by direct elections. The Mayor of Tbilisi is Kakha Kaladze and the Chairman of the Tbilisi city Assembly is Giorgi Alibegashvili.
  Administratively, the city is divided into raions (districts), which have their own units of central and local government with jurisdiction over a limited scope of affairs. This subdivision was established under Soviet rule in the 1930s, following the general subdivision of the Soviet Union. Since Georgia regained independence, the raion system was modified and reshuffled. According to the latest revision, Tbilisi raions include:
  Mtatsminda District Including Neighborhoods: Mtatsminda, Sololaki, Vera, Kiketi, Kojori, Shindisi, Tsavkikisi, Tabakhmela
  Vake District Including Neighborhoods: Vake, Bagebi, Vazha Pshavela Quarters, Nutsubidze Plateau, Tskneti
  Saburtalo District Including Neighborhoods: Delisi, Vedzisi, Vashlijvari, Bakhtrioni, Khiliani, Didi Dighomi, Zurgovana
  Krtsanisi District Including Neighborhoods: Kala, Ortachala, Ponichala
  Isani District Including Neighborhoods: Avlabari, Navtlughi, Metromsheni, Vazisubani, Eighth Legioni
  Samgori District Including Neighborhoods: Varketili, Third Array, Orkhevi, Dampalo, Lilo, Lower Samgori
  Chughureti District Including Neighborhoods: Chughureti, Kukia, Svanetisubani
  Didube District Including Neighborhoods: Didube, Didghomi Massive
  Nadzaladevi District Including Neighborhoods: Nadzaladevi, Sanzona, Temka, Lotkini, Old Nadzaladevi
  Gldani District Including Neighborhoods: Gldani Massive, Avchala, Mukhiani, Gldanula
  Most of the raions are named after historic quarters of the city. The citizens of Tbilisi widely recognise an informal system of smaller historic neighbourhoods. Such neighbourhoods are several, however, constituting a kind of hierarchy, because most of them have lost their distinctive topographic limits. The natural first level of subdivision of the city is into the Right Bank and the Left Bank of the Mt'k'vari. The names of the oldest neighbourhoods go back to the early Middle Ages and sometimes pose a great linguistic interest. The newest whole-built developments bear chiefly residential marketing names.
  In pre-Revolution Tiflis, the Georgian quarter was confined to the southeastern part of the city; Baedeker describes the layout succinctly:
  In the north part of the town, on the left bank of the Kurá and to the south of the railway station, stretches the clean German Quarter, formerly occupied by German immigrants from Württemberg (1818). To the south is the Gruzinian or Georgian Quarter (Avlabár). On the right bank of the Kurá is the Russian Quarter, the seat of the officials and of the larger business firms. This is adjoined on the south by the Armenian and Persian Bazaars.
  — Karl Baedeker, Russia: A Handbook for Travelers
  Avlabari is considered "the integral component of the so-called 'old Tbilisi'" and is the object of planning and cultural heritage preservation.
caption: City Council of Tbilisi
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