Kazakh Uyezd
The Kazakh Uyezd (), also transliterated as Kazakhsky Uyezd, was one of the "uyezds" (administrative units) of the Elisabethpol Governorate of the Russian Empire and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Kazakh (Qazax) from 1868 until its formal abolition in 1929 by the Soviet authorities of the Azerbaijan SSR. The area of the Kazakh Uyezd today forms a large part of the Tavush and a small northeastern part of the Gegharkunik Provinces of Armenia, also forming most of the area of the Agstafa, Tovuz and Qazax Districts of Azerbaijan. Geography. The Elisabethpol Governorate as a  whole consisted of the Elisabethpol, Nukha, Shusha, Zangezur, Kazakh, Aresh, Jebrail, and Jevanshir Uyezds. The Kazakh Uyezd was located in the northwestern part of Elisabethpol Governorate, bordering the Tiflis Governorate in the north, the Erivan Governorates in the southwest, and the Elisabethpol Uyezd in the east. The area of the uyezd was 6024.2 square versts. The southwestern part of the uyezd was mountainous, whereas the northeastern part mainly consisted of lowlands. Two-thirds of uyezd was covered by Sevan or Shah-dagh mountain range of Lesser Caucasus which formed the natural boundary between the Erivan and Elisabethpol Governorates, extending from  the southwest towards the northeast, then meeting the Kura River in the lowlands. Among its peaks are Soyuq-bulag (, 8,806 ft), Shah-dagh (, 9556 ft), Murguz (, 9852 ft). History. The Kazakh sultanate existed in the area of the uyezd from the 15th century until its incorporation into Russian Empire along with Georgian territories. Kazakh at the time being a part of the Georgian Governorate until the establishment of Elisabethpol Governorate in 1868. The uyezd was one of the first locations of revolt against the decaying Russian authority, erupting in the beginning of 1918. After the dissolution of the Russian Empire  and the formation of the independent Transcaucasian republics, including the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, the western mountainous districts of the Elisabethpol Governorate including the Shusha, Zangezur, Jebrail, Jevanshir, Kazakh and Elisabethpol Uyezds became subject to intense territorial disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan throughout 1918-1920, both of whom included these areas in their territorial pretensions that they presented in memorandums to the Paris Peace Conference. Since the collapse of Russian authority in the Transcaucasus, the southwestern mountainous portion of the uyezd including the town of Dilijan which possessed an overwhelmingly Armenian population was incorporated into the Republic of Armenia  in the December of 1918, following the withdrawal of the occupying Ottoman forces. The region later became the site of occasional clashes during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war, with the Azerbaijani Army mainly concentrated in the northeastern lowlands including the district center Kazakh, and the Armenian Army in the adjacent highlands. Following the Sovietization of the Transcausus, the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party was tasked with resolving the issue of boundaries between the new Armenian and Azerbaijani Soviet Republics, leading to the demarcation line of 1918-1920 being largely preserved with most of the highlands  of the Kazakh Uyezd remaining within Soviet Armenia, and the rest of the uyezd remaining to Soviet Azerbaijan. This arrangement persisted until the Kazakh Uyezd was formally abolished in 1929 by Soviet authorities, leading to the formation of the Qazakh Rayon on August 8, 1930 in its place. Kazakh, also known as "New Akstafa" was an important railway station linking the Elisabethpol Governorate (Soyug Bulag station) with Erivan, Tiflis and Kars (Dzegam station) via the Transcaucasus Railway. Demographics. Russian Imperial Census of 1897. According to the first and only Russian Empire Census of 1897, the population of the uyezd was  112,074, of which 64,101 were Tatars (later known as Azerbaijanis), 43,555 were Armenians, 3,444 - Russians, 425 - Georgians and other minorities. According to the Soviet census of 1926, the population rose to 121,255 people of which 110,550 were Turks (i.e. Azerbaijanis), 3,632 - Armenians, 3,816 - Russians, 1,543 - Germans. The uyezd ranked first in Elisabethpol Governorate for the number of its male population. The population was engaged primarily in agricultural farming, gardening, and tobacco growing. Wool production played an important role in the economy of uyezd. Kazakh Uyezd had the lowest number of plants and factories in the governorate. According to statistical data  from 1891, there were 10,590 horses, 2,700 donkeys and mules, 77,826 great cattle, 8,107 buffalos, 251,000 sheep, 14,100 goats, 10,468 pigs. Caucasian Calendar of 1917. The 1917 Caucasian Calendar which produced statistics of 1916 indicates 137,049 residents in the Kazakh Uyezd, including 78,601 men and 58,448 women, 131,032 of whom were the permanent population, and 6,017 were temporary residents. The statistics indicate Azerbaijanis formed the majority of the population of the uyezd, followed closely by Armenians, also including a sizeable Russian minority: