Tianeti
Encyclopedia
Tianeti is a town in east-central Georgia
, in the Caucasus Mountains
. It is located at around 42°6′34"N 44°57′19"E.
Tianeti is situated in the North-Eastern part of Georgia (Mtskheta-Mtianeti region). According to the 2002 State Census, its population was 3598 people (State Department for Statistics of Georgia, 2003: P. 47). As 2003 studies of poverty in Georgia suggest, Mtskheta-Mtianeti Region, and Tianeti district in particular, are among the poorest regions and districts of Georgia. In 2003, 63% of the population of Tianeti was below the poverty line, compared to 47% of the Georgian population (Labbate, Jamburia, Mirzashvili, 2003: 21). Taking into account the fact that since 2003, economic situation has not improved significantly, we assume that Tianeti today is still one of the poorest districts in Georgia . According to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, as of November 2008, 14% of Tianeti families were receiving social assistance in December 2008, compared to 8% countrywide .
During the Soviet times, Tianeti was a district (‘rayon’) center. Several food processing enterprises, factories, as well poultry and meat producing farms were functioning in the district, providing employment opportunities for the local population (Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia 1979: 678-679). Soviet cultural, medical and educational infrastructure was also developed there.
In 2008, Tianeti was still the center of municipality (which is the contemporary analogue to Soviet-time ‘rayon’) with two secondary schools, two kindergartens, vocational school, library, hospital and ethnographic museum. Municipality self-governance office, post office, and police station are also located in Tianeti. One of the Georgian banks has an office in Tianeti. There is a farmer’s market, where most of the population purchases food, and several private grocery stores. None of the factories and farms that operated during the Soviet time is working today, and no new enterprises have been established. A small part of the population works at state institutions (so called “budget jobs”: schools, hospital, local self-governance, post-office, etc.). Products and/or income from subsistence farming contribute to a significant share of budgets of the local households. However, Tianeti experiences shortage in arable land (Labbate, Jamburia, Mirzashvili, 2003:21). In addition, the climate is quite severe here, and the land is not fertile, sometimes population is unable to harvest crops before the winter.
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, in the Caucasus Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
. It is located at around 42°6′34"N 44°57′19"E.
Tianeti is situated in the North-Eastern part of Georgia (Mtskheta-Mtianeti region). According to the 2002 State Census, its population was 3598 people (State Department for Statistics of Georgia, 2003: P. 47). As 2003 studies of poverty in Georgia suggest, Mtskheta-Mtianeti Region, and Tianeti district in particular, are among the poorest regions and districts of Georgia. In 2003, 63% of the population of Tianeti was below the poverty line, compared to 47% of the Georgian population (Labbate, Jamburia, Mirzashvili, 2003: 21). Taking into account the fact that since 2003, economic situation has not improved significantly, we assume that Tianeti today is still one of the poorest districts in Georgia . According to the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, as of November 2008, 14% of Tianeti families were receiving social assistance in December 2008, compared to 8% countrywide .
During the Soviet times, Tianeti was a district (‘rayon’) center. Several food processing enterprises, factories, as well poultry and meat producing farms were functioning in the district, providing employment opportunities for the local population (Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia 1979: 678-679). Soviet cultural, medical and educational infrastructure was also developed there.
In 2008, Tianeti was still the center of municipality (which is the contemporary analogue to Soviet-time ‘rayon’) with two secondary schools, two kindergartens, vocational school, library, hospital and ethnographic museum. Municipality self-governance office, post office, and police station are also located in Tianeti. One of the Georgian banks has an office in Tianeti. There is a farmer’s market, where most of the population purchases food, and several private grocery stores. None of the factories and farms that operated during the Soviet time is working today, and no new enterprises have been established. A small part of the population works at state institutions (so called “budget jobs”: schools, hospital, local self-governance, post-office, etc.). Products and/or income from subsistence farming contribute to a significant share of budgets of the local households. However, Tianeti experiences shortage in arable land (Labbate, Jamburia, Mirzashvili, 2003:21). In addition, the climate is quite severe here, and the land is not fertile, sometimes population is unable to harvest crops before the winter.