Kars Oblast
Encyclopedia
Kars Oblast was one of Transcaucasian governorates
of Russian Empire
between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was in the city of Kars
, presently in the Republic of Turkey
. The governorate bordered with the Ottoman Empire
, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate
, Erivan Governorate
, and from 1883 to 1903 with the Kutaisi Governorate. First governor of Kars Oblast was Victor A. Frankin with period of 1878-1881.
was created in 1878 from some of the lands conquered by Russia from Ottoman Empire
and transferred to Russia by the Treaty of San Stefano
(1878). The lands of the Oblast had previously belonged to the Ottoman Kars Eyalet and Çıldır Eyaleti
before 1845 and Erzurum Eyalet
after 1845.
With the incorporation of the region into Russian Empire, a large portion (82,000 during 1878-81, according to Russian sources) of the local Muslim (Turkish) population left for Turkey. Instead, Christian Armenians, and Christian Orthodox Georgians, Pontic Greeks, Russians (including Molokan
and Doukhobor
religious minorities) and even ethnic Germans migrated to or were resettled in the newly conquered lands from Russia's other Transcaucasian provinces or from areas that still fell within the Turkish side of the newly drawn border.
After the October Revolution
of 1917 and the disintegration of Russian Empire, the lands of its Kars Oblast were controlled for a short while by Democratic Republic of Armenia
and, in its northern part, by Democratic Republic of Georgia
. However, Turkey soon reoccupied the area. Reincorporation of most of the lands of the former Kars Oblast into the Turkish state was officially confirmed by the Treaty of Kars
(1921).
s (districts):
Two more okrugs, Zarushat
(Заришат) and Shoragyal (Шорагял; also spelt Shuregel) existed in 1878-81.
The religious composition of the population was reported as follows:
of 1897 counted 290,654 residents in Kars Oblast, including
160,571 men and 130,083 women. This number may perhaps imply that the 200,868 estimate for 1892 given by Brockhaus is too low, or that a large-scale migration from other provinces of the empire took place in between. The following breakdown of the population by the mother tongue was reported:
The 30,000 excess population of male over females was mainly attributed to the "European" ethnic groups. Viz.,
among the 27,856 speakers of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, 19,910 men and 7,946 women were recorded. The Polish, and Lithuanian speakers were almost exclusively (99%) male as well; Germans and Jews, 80 to 90% males. This preponderance of males in the "European" ethnic groups (reported, usually to a lesser extent, in neighboring governorates
as well) may indicate presence of a large numbers of soldiers or exiled persons in the region.
Ethnic groups in Kars Oblast according to 1897 Russian census
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
of Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was in the city of Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
, presently in the Republic of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The governorate bordered with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Batum Oblast, Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate
Tiflis Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire with its centre in Tiflis . In 1897 it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants...
, Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate
Erivan Governorate was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan . Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometres. It roughly corresponded to what is now most of central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of Turkey, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave...
, and from 1883 to 1903 with the Kutaisi Governorate. First governor of Kars Oblast was Victor A. Frankin with period of 1878-1881.
History
Kars OblastOblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
was created in 1878 from some of the lands conquered by Russia from Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and transferred to Russia by the Treaty of San Stefano
Treaty of San Stefano
The Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78...
(1878). The lands of the Oblast had previously belonged to the Ottoman Kars Eyalet and Çıldır Eyaleti
Samtskhe Province, Ottoman Empire
The Eyalet of Childir was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire in the Southwestern Caucasus. The area of the former Çıldır Eyalet is now divided between Samtskhe-Javakheti and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in Georgia and provinces of Artvin, Ardahan and Erzurum in Turkey...
before 1845 and Erzurum Eyalet
Erzurum Eyalet
The Erzurum Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It was established in the 16th century, after the conquest of Western Armenia by the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was .-History:...
after 1845.
With the incorporation of the region into Russian Empire, a large portion (82,000 during 1878-81, according to Russian sources) of the local Muslim (Turkish) population left for Turkey. Instead, Christian Armenians, and Christian Orthodox Georgians, Pontic Greeks, Russians (including Molokan
Molokan
Molokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
and Doukhobor
Doukhobor
The Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
religious minorities) and even ethnic Germans migrated to or were resettled in the newly conquered lands from Russia's other Transcaucasian provinces or from areas that still fell within the Turkish side of the newly drawn border.
After the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
of 1917 and the disintegration of Russian Empire, the lands of its Kars Oblast were controlled for a short while by Democratic Republic of Armenia
Democratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
and, in its northern part, by Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. However, Turkey soon reoccupied the area. Reincorporation of most of the lands of the former Kars Oblast into the Turkish state was officially confirmed by the Treaty of Kars
Treaty of Kars
The Treaty of Kars was a "friendship" treaty signed in Kars on October 13, 1921 and ratified in Yerevan on September 11 1922.Signatories included representatives from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which in 1923 would declare the Republic of Turkey, and also from Soviet Armenia, Soviet...
(1921).
Administrative division
Since 1881, Kars Oblast consisted of four okrugOkrug
Okrug is an administrative division of some Slavic states. The word "okrug" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "district", or "region"....
s (districts):
- KarsKars ProvinceKars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
(Карсский округ) - ArdahanArdahanArdahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
(Ардаганский округ) - KağızmanKagizmanKağızman is a town and district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 17,144 as of 2010. The mayor is Mehmet Alkan.-References:...
(Кагызманский округ) - OltuOltuOltu is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is İbrahim Ziyrek . The population is 19,969 .-History:...
(Ольтинский округ)
Two more okrugs, Zarushat
Arpaçay
Arpaçay is a town and a district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 2,503 as of 2010. The mayor is Enver Akkaya ....
(Заришат) and Shoragyal (Шорагял; also spelt Shuregel) existed in 1878-81.
1892
As of 1892, the population of Kars Oblast was estimated as 200,868. The ethnic composition, and religious affiliation of ethnic groups, was reported as follows:- TurksTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
(this number also included a some Adjarians): 24% (Sunni Muslims) - ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
: 21.5% - Kurds: 15% (Sunni Muslims and some YazidiYazidiThe Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
) - Muslim KarapapakKarapapakThe Karapapak are a small ethnic group of Turkic-speaking people who mainly live in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in the northeast of Turkey near the border with Georgia and Armenia, primarily in the provinces of Ardahan , Kars and Iğdır, and in Iran...
s: 14% (Sunni and some Shi'a) - AleviAleviThe Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
KarapapakKarapapakThe Karapapak are a small ethnic group of Turkic-speaking people who mainly live in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in the northeast of Turkey near the border with Georgia and Armenia, primarily in the provinces of Ardahan , Kars and Iğdır, and in Iran...
s (reported as 'Turkmen'): 5% - Pontic GreeksPontic GreeksThe Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
: 13.5% (Orthodox Christians) - RussiansRussiansThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
: 7% (mostly "sectarians", i.e. MolokanMolokanMolokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
s, DoukhoborDoukhoborThe Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
s, etc.)
The religious composition of the population was reported as follows:
- Orthodox Christians: 14%
- "Sectarians" (MolokanMolokanMolokans are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 17th century...
s, DoukhoborDoukhoborThe Doukhobors or Dukhobors , earlierDukhobortsy are a group of Russian origin.The Doukhobors were one of the sects - later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a "way of life" - known generically as Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is...
s, etc.): 5% - Armenian Apostolic ChurchArmenian Apostolic ChurchThe Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
: 21% - Other Christian churches: 0.75%
- Muslims: 53%, among which:
- Sunni: 46%
- Shi'a: 7%
- AleviAleviThe Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
(reported as "Ali Illahi"): 5% - YazidiYazidiThe Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
: 1.25%
1897
The Russian Empire CensusRussian Empire Census
The Russian Imperial Census of 1897 was the first and the only census carried out in the Russian Empire . It recorded demographic data as of ....
of 1897 counted 290,654 residents in Kars Oblast, including
160,571 men and 130,083 women. This number may perhaps imply that the 200,868 estimate for 1892 given by Brockhaus is too low, or that a large-scale migration from other provinces of the empire took place in between. The following breakdown of the population by the mother tongue was reported:
- TurkicTurkic languagesThe Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
: 104,457, including:- TatarTatar languageThe Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
: 2,347 - BashkirBashkir languageThe Bashkir language is a Turkic language, and is the language of the Bashkirs. It is co-official with Russian in the Republic of Bashkortostan.-Speakers:...
: 207 - TurkishTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
: 63,547 - KarapapakKarapapakThe Karapapak are a small ethnic group of Turkic-speaking people who mainly live in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in the northeast of Turkey near the border with Georgia and Armenia, primarily in the provinces of Ardahan , Kars and Iğdır, and in Iran...
: 29,879 - Turkmen (AlaviAlaviThe surname Alavi signifies ancestry from Hazrat Ali ibn Abi Talib , the fourth Caliph of Sunni Islam and the first Imam in Shia Islam...
KarapapakKarapapakThe Karapapak are a small ethnic group of Turkic-speaking people who mainly live in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in the northeast of Turkey near the border with Georgia and Armenia, primarily in the provinces of Ardahan , Kars and Iğdır, and in Iran...
): 8,442
- Tatar
- ArmenianArmenian languageThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
: 73,406 - KurdishKurdish languageKurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
: 42,968 - Pontic GreeksPontic GreeksThe Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
: 32,593 - East SlavicEast Slavic languagesThe East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
: 27,856, including:- RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: 22,327 - UkrainianUkrainian languageUkrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
: 5,279 - BelarusianBelarusian languageThe Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: 250
- Russian
- PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: 3243 - Jewish (Yiddish etc.): 1,138
- LithuanianLithuanian languageLithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
: 892 - Chaldean Neo-AramaicChaldean Neo-AramaicChaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Chaldean communities worldwide. Most speakers are Chaldean Catholics....
('Assyrian'): 585 - PersianPersian languagePersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: 568 - GeorgianGeorgian languageGeorgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
: 543 - Ossetian: 520
- EstonianEstonian languageEstonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
: 455 - Lezgin: 448
- GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: 430
The 30,000 excess population of male over females was mainly attributed to the "European" ethnic groups. Viz.,
among the 27,856 speakers of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian, 19,910 men and 7,946 women were recorded. The Polish, and Lithuanian speakers were almost exclusively (99%) male as well; Germans and Jews, 80 to 90% males. This preponderance of males in the "European" ethnic groups (reported, usually to a lesser extent, in neighboring governorates
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
as well) may indicate presence of a large numbers of soldiers or exiled persons in the region.
Ethnic groups in Kars Oblast according to 1897 Russian census
| Okrug Okrug Okrug is an administrative division of some Slavic states. The word "okrug" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "district", or "region".... (district) |
Armenians Armenians Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian.... |
Turks Turkish people Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania... |
Kurds | Greeks Pontic Greeks The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea... |
Karapapak Karapapak The Karapapak are a small ethnic group of Turkic-speaking people who mainly live in Azerbaijan, in Georgia, in the northeast of Turkey near the border with Georgia and Armenia, primarily in the provinces of Ardahan , Kars and Iğdır, and in Iran... |
Russians Russians The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries.... |
Turkmens | Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
Poles Poles thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe... |
Tatars (Azerbaijani) Azerbaijani people The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 25,3 % | 21,9 % | 14,8 % | 11,2 % | 10,3 % | 7,7 % | 2,9 % | 1,8 % | 1,1 % | … |
| Ardahan Ardahan Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe... |
2,9 % | 42,6 % | 19,1 % | 11,9 % | 12,0 % | 3,0 % | 6,6 % | … | … | … |
| Kaghzvan Kagizman Kağızman is a town and district of Kars Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 17,144 as of 2010. The mayor is Mehmet Alkan.-References:... |
36,5 % | 8,7 % | 29,9 % | 12,2 % | … | 4,4 % | 1,1 % | 2,4 % | 1,5 % | 1,5 % |
| Kars Kars Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia... |
34,8 % | 7,9 % | 6,8 % | 11,0 % | 16,4 % | 12,6 % | 1,8 % | 2,5 % | 1,6 % | 1,1 % |
| Olti Oltu Oltu is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is İbrahim Ziyrek . The population is 19,969 .-History:... |
9,9 % | 62,6 % | 11,1 % | 8,6 % | … | 2,8 % | 3,2 % | … | … | … |