1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east
3.
Mkhare
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A mkhare is a type of administrative division in the country of Georgia. It is usually translated as region, according to presidential decrees in 1994 and 1996, Georgias division into regions is on a provisional basis until the secessionist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are resolved. The regional administration is headed by a State Commissioner, an appointed by the President. The regions are subdivided into raionis. There are 9 regions in Georgia, Administrative divisions of Georgia
4.
Districts of Georgia (country)
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A municipality is a subdivision of Georgia, consisting of a settlement or a group of settlements, which enjoys local self-government. There are two types of municipalities—self-governing cities,12 in total, and self-governing communities,67 in total, the municipalities were first established in 2006. Most of them were successors to the subdivisions, known as raioni. In addition, new municipalities were formed to govern those settlements in the entities of Abkhazia. After the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, Georgia treats these municipalities as parts of its occupied territories, the former districts not under Georgias effective sovereignty at the moment of the local government reform of 2006 were not transformed into municipalities. In 2014, the system of government was further reformed. Each municipality is divided into units, which can comprise one or several settlements. *– The territories of Abkhazia outside Georgias control and defined by Georgia as occupied territories as of 2015, **– These municipalities which include settlements in South Ossetia outside Georgias control and defined by Georgia as occupied territories as of 2015. ***– Official statistics available only for parts of the municipalities that are controlled by Georgia. ****– Official statistics are not available for the territories not under Georgias control
5.
Caucasus Mountains
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The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region. The Caucasus Mountains include the Greater Caucasus in the north and Lesser Caucasus in the south, the Greater Caucasus runs west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Caucasian Natural Reserve in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea nearly to Baku on the Caspian Sea. The Lesser Caucasus runs parallel to the Greater about 100 km south, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by the Likhi Range, and to the west and east of the Likhi Range lie the Colchis Plain and the Kur-Araz Lowland. The Meskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus system, in the southeast the Aras River separates the Lesser Caucasus from the Talysh Mountains which straddle the border of southeastern Azerbaijan and Iran. The highest peak in the Caucasus range is Mount Elbrus in the Greater Caucasus, Mountains near Sochi hosted part of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Geologically, the Caucasus Mountains belong to a system that extends from southeastern Europe into Asia, the Greater Caucasus Mountains are mainly composed of Cretaceous and Jurassic rocks with the Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks in the higher regions. Some volcanic formations are found throughout the range, on the other hand, the Lesser Caucasus Mountains are formed predominantly of the Paleogene rocks with a much smaller portion of the Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. The Caucasus Mountains formed largely as the result of a plate collision between the Arabian plate moving northwards with respect to the Eurasian plate. As this happened, the rocks that had been deposited in this basin from the Jurassic to the Miocene were folded to form the Greater Caucasus Mountains. This collision also caused the uplift and the Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains, the entire region is regularly subjected to strong earthquakes from this activity. While the Greater Caucasus Mountains have a mainly folded sedimentary structure, the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau in Georgia and the surrounding volcanic ranges which extend well into central Armenia are some of the youngest features of the region. The Kazbek is no active, but the Elbrus erupted in postglacial times. Contemporary seismic activity is a prominent feature of the region, reflecting active faulting, clusters of seismicity occur in Dagestan and in northern Armenia. Many devastating earthquakes have been documented in historical times, including the Spitak earthquake in December 1988 which destroyed the Gyumri-Vanadzor region of Armenia, europes highest mountain is Mount Elbrus 5,642 m in the Caucasus Mountains. Elbrus is 832 m higher than Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps at 4,810 m, the Caucasus Mountains are defined as the continental divide between Asia and Europe for the region between the Black and Caspian Seas. The table below lists some of the highest peaks of the Caucasus, with the exception of Shkhara, the heights are taken from Soviet 1,50,000 mapping. There are higher and more prominent, but nameless, peaks than some of the peaks included below, the climate of the Caucasus varies both vertically and horizontally. Temperature generally decreases as elevation rises, average annual temperature in Sukhumi, Abkhazia at sea level is 15 °C while on the slopes of Mt. Kazbek at an elevation of 3,700 metres, average annual temperature falls to−6.1 °C
6.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
7.
Abkhazia
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Abkhazia is a partially recognised state on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus Mountains, south of Russia and northwest of Georgia proper. It covers 8,660 square kilometres and has a population of around 240,000, the separatist Abkhazian polity, formally the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny, is recognised only by Russia and a small number of other countries. The status of Abkhazia is an issue of the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict. The region enjoyed autonomy within Soviet Georgia at the time when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate in the late 1980s, despite the 1994 ceasefire agreement and years of negotiations, the dispute remained unresolved. The long-term presence of a United Nations Observer Mission and a Russian-led Commonwealth of Independent States peacekeeping force failed to prevent the flare-up of violence on several occasions. On 28 August 2008, the Parliament of Georgia declared Abkhazia a Russian-occupied territory, the Abkhazians call their homeland Аҧсны, popularly etymologised as a land/country of the soul, yet literally meaning a country of mortals. It possibly first appeared in the century in an Armenian text as Psin. The state is designated as the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny. The Russian Абхазия is adapted from the Georgian აფხაზეთი, in Mingrelian, Abkhazia is known as აბჟუა or სააფხაზო. Between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, the territory of modern Abkhazia was part of the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis and this kingdom was subsequently absorbed in 63 BC into the Kingdom of Egrisi, known to Byzantine Roman sources as Lazica. Classical authors described various peoples living in the region and the multitude of languages they spoke. Arrian, Pliny and Strabo have given accounts of the Abasgoi and Moschoi peoples somewhere in modern Abkhazia on the shore of the Black Sea. Around the mid 6th century AD, the Byzantines and the neighbouring Sassanid Persia fought for supremacy over Abkhazia for 20 years, Abkhazia, or Abasgia in classic sources, formerly part of Colchis and later of Egrisi until the late 690s, was a princedom under Byzantine authority. The country was mostly Christian, with the seat in Pityus. An Arab incursion into Abkhazia led by Marwan II, was repelled by Leon I jointly with his Egrisian and Kartlian allies in 736, after acquiring Egrisi via a dynastic union in the 780s the Kingdom of Abkhazia was established and became a dominant power in western Caucasus. During this period the Georgian language replaced Greek as the language of literacy, the western Georgian kingdom flourished between 850 and 950 when it annexed significant parts of central Georgia. In the 16th century, after the break-up of the Georgian Kingdom into small kingdoms and principalities, since the 1570s, when the Ottoman navy occupied the fort of Tskhumi, Abkhazia came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire and Islam. Under Ottoman rule, the majority of Abkhaz elite converted to Islam, the principality retained a degree of autonomy
8.
Sukhumi
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Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia which has controlled it since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, sukhumis history can be traced back to the 6th century BC, when it was settled by Greeks, who named it Dioscurias. During this time and the subsequent Roman period, much of the city disappeared under the Black Sea, the city was named Tskhumi when it became part of the Kingdom of Abkhazia. Contested by local princes, it part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1570s. Following a period of conflict during Russian Civil War, it part of the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union broke up in the early 1990s, the city suffered significant damage during the Georgian–Abkhazian conflict, the present-day population of 60,000 is only half of the population living there towards the end of Soviet rule. In Georgian, the city is known as სოხუმი or აყუ, in Megrelian as აყუჯიხა, the toponym Sokhumi derives from the Georgian word Tskhomi/Tskhumi, meaning beech. It is significant, that dia in several dialects of the Georgian language and among them in Megrelian means mother, in Abkhaz, the city is known as Аҟәа which according to native tradition signifies water. In the ancient Greek sources the city is referred to as Dioscurias, according to the antique traditions this name originates from the mythical Dioskouri, the twin brothers Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus. It was believed that the town had established by Castors and Polluxs coachmen. However the names of the town may simply be the Greek comprehension of the old Georgian word combination, the medieval Georgian sources knew the town as Tskhumi. Later, under the Ottoman control, the town was known in Turkish as Suhum-Kale, Tskhumi in turn is supposed to be derived from the Svan language word for hot, or the Georgian word for hornbeam tree. The ending -i in the above forms represents the Georgian nominative-suffix, the town was initially officially described in Russian as Сухум, until 16 August 1936 when this was changed to Сухуми. This remained so until 4 December 1992, when the Supreme Council of Abkhazia restored the original version, that was approved in Russia in autumn 2008, even though Сухуми is also still being used. In English, the most common today is Sukhumi, although Sokhumi is increasing in usage and has been adopted by sources including Encyclopædia Britannica, MSN Encarta, Esri. Sukhumi is located on a bay of the eastern coast of the Black Sea and serves as a port, rail junction. It is known for its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas, Sukhumi is also an important air link for Abkhazia as the Sukhumi Dranda Airport is located nearby the city. Sukhumi contains a number of small-to-medium size hotels serving chiefly the Russian tourists, Sukhumi botanical garden was established in 1840, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the Caucasus
9.
New Athos
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New Athos or Akhali Atoni is a town in the Gudauta raion of Abkhazia, situated some 22 km from Sukhumi by the shores of the Black Sea. The town was known under the names Nikopol, Acheisos, Anakopia, Nikopia, Nikofia, Nikopsis, Absara. New Athos Cave is one of the tourist attractions of Abkhazia, /Georgia, a large ancient Greek port town of Anacopia was recorded there in the 3rd century. In the 5th century, Georgians built a fortress on the top of the Iverian Mountain. Anacopia was the capital of the Abkhazian princedom in the orbit of the Byzantine Empire, later, the capital was moved to Kutaisi. Located between the Black Sea and the Iverian Mountain, New Athos is 17 km far from Gudauta,22 from Sukhumi and 84 from the Russian borders at Vesyoloye, vitali Smyr was reappointed as Mayor on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections. On 8 May 2003, Smyr was appointed Minister for Agriculture, on 19 May, Feliks Dautia was appointed his successor. In 1874 Russian monks from the overcrowded Rossikon Monastery on Mount Athos arrived to the Caucasus in order to find a place for possible resettlement and they feared that the Ottoman Empire would oust the Russians from Athos after the outbreak of the impending Russo-Turkish War. They selected Psyrtskha, and the Neo-Byzantine New Athos Monastery, dedicated to St. Simon the Canaanite, was constructed there in the 1880s with funds provided by Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Eventually Russian monks were permitted to stay in the old Athos, in 1924, during the Soviet persecution of religion, the monastery was closed. It was later used as a facility, tourist base, hospital. Its return to the Orthodox Church began in 1994, after the end of the war, the scenic setting of the New Athos monastery by the sea has made it a popular destination with Russian tourists visiting Abkhazia. An older church of St. Simon the Canaanite, dated to the 9th-10th century and reconstructed in the 1880s, is located near the town, on the Psyrtskha stream. New Athos has a hydroelectric power station and artificial lake on the river Psyrtskha. The station was built by the monks of the monastery between 1892 and 1903 and repaired in 1922 and it remained broken for over forty years before being repaired again — it was re-opened on 4 June 2012. It produces an estimated 100 kW per hour for the monastery which still owns it, New Athos cave is a karst cave in the Iverian Mountain, few km far from the town. Since 1975 it is served by the New Athos Cave Railway
10.
Gagra
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Gagra is a town in Abkhazia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular resort in Imperial Russian. It had a population of 26,636 in 1989, but this has fallen due to the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia and other demographic shifts during. Gagra is the centre of the district of the same name and it is located in the western part of Region of Abkhazia, and river Psou serves as a border with Krasnodar Kray of Russia. According to the Georgian scholars, Gagra is derived from Gakra meaning walnut in the Svan language, according to the Soviet sports tourism master Bondaryev, the name of the city originates from the local Gagaa clan. According to Professor V. Kvarchija, Gagra means ‘the holder of the coast’ in Abkhaz, the town was established as a Greek colony in the kingdom of Colchis, called Triglite, inhabited by Greeks and Colchians. Colchis came under the control of the kingdom of Pontus in the 1st century BC before being absorbed by the Roman Empire and its geographical position led the Romans to fortify the town, which was repeatedly attacked by Goths and other invaders. After the fall of Rome, its successor, the Byzantine Empire, took control of the town and it became a major trading settlement in which Genoan and Venetian merchants were prominent, trading in the towns main exports - wood, honey, wax and slaves. The name Gagra appeared for the first time on a map in 1308, on a map of the caucasus made by the Italian Pietro Visconti, in the 16th century, Gagra and the rest of western Georgia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The western merchants were expelled and the town entered a period of decline. By the 18th century the town had been reduced to more than a village surrounded by forests. Its fortunes were restored in the 19th century when the Russian Empire expanded into the region, the swamps were drained and the town was rebuilt around a new military hospital. Its population, however, was small, in 1866. The town suffered badly in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, when Turkish troops invaded, destroyed the town, Russia won the war, however, and rebuilt Gagra again. After the war, the town was discovered by Duke Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg and he saw the potential of the regions subtropical climate and decided to build a high-class resort there. Having raised a sum of money from the government, he built himself a palace there. A park was laid out with trees and even parrots. Despite the expensive work, the resort was not initially a success, in the Russian Revolution of 1905, a local uprising produced a revolutionary government in the town, which founded a short-lived Republic of Gagra
11.
Gudauta
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Gudauta is a town in Abkhazia and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea,37 km northwest to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. 43. 10199°N40. 6248°E /43.10199,40.6248 Gudauta used to be home to a Soviet Air Defence Forces base, Bombora airfield, the 171st Fighter Aviation Regiment was then transferred to Ugolnye Kopi, Chukotia Autonomous Okrug. The 529th Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew Su-27 Flankers from the base in the last years of the Cold War and this regiment was under the command of the 19th Army of the Air Defence Forces. Gudauta was a center of Abkhaz separatist resistance to Georgian government forces during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 1992–1993, the unit was subordinated directly to the Russian General Staff. In 1999, its equipment includes 142 AIFV/APC, and 11 self- propelled artillery systems 2S9 Nona-S, the base has always been a significant factor in the Abkhaz conflict. The Georgian side and many Western independent observers claim the Gudauta base provided principal military support to Abkhaz rebels during the war in 1992–1993, in September 1995, Georgia had to legitimize Russian leases of three bases in the country and the Gudauta base among them. However, Abkhaz authorities block OSCE inspection visits and no date is set for withdrawal from the base, Georgia still alleges that it is used to offer military support to the Abkhaz secessionists. The Gudauta base remains one of the problems in complicated Russian-Georgian relations. Гәдоу-ҭа, Гәдоу is a mane of the river, ҭа is a locative suffix, Gudauta is twinned with the following city, Kineshma, Russia Media related to Gudauta at Wikimedia Commons
12.
Ochamchire
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Ochamchire or Ochamchira is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast of Abkhazia, Georgia. And a centre of the eponymous district, according to the 1978 population census, Ochamchire had 18,700 residents. After the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict of 1992-93, Ochamchire experienced a significant population decline due to ethnic cleansing of Georgians, most of the internally displaced persons who were affected by the conflict have yet to return to the city. Ochamchire lies along the bank of the Ghalidzga River at an elevation of 5 metres above sea level. The city is located 53 kilometres southeast of Sukhumi capital city, ochamchires climate is humid subtropical, with mild winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 13.6 degrees Celsius, januarys average temperature is 4.5 degrees Celsius while the average temperature in July is 23 degrees Celsius. According to Itar Tass, in 2009, Russia planned to construct a new base for its Black Sea Fleet in Ochamchire. The former Georgian Soviet footballer Vitaly Daraselia was from Ochamchire, Ochamchire is twinned with the following cites, Kostroma, Russia Bendery, Transnistria Georgian State Encyclopedia
13.
Tkvarcheli
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Tkvarcheli is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia. It is situated on the river Ghalidzga and a railroad connects it with Ochamchire, coal mining, which began in the area in 1935, grew in importance during the Second World War, especially after the Donbass was lost during the Nazi invasion. Tkvarcheli was given town status on 9 April 1942 During the War in Abkhazia, Tkvarcheli withstood, through Russian humanitarian and military aid, since 1995, it is the centre of the newly formed Tkvarcheli District. On 27 September 2008, President Sergei Bagapsh awarded it the title of Hero City. Coal-mining has been the main industry ever since although now the Soviet mines are closed. Tamsaşs tax payments account for 75% of the Tkvarcheli districts budget however, construction of a new cement plant is planned now, its output to be used for the Olympic construction projects in Sochi. The towns population was 21,744 in 1989, the three main ethnic groups were Abkhaz, Russians and Georgians. At the time of the 2003 census, its population was 4,786, by the time of the 2011 census, it had increased to 5,013. Of these,66. 5% were Abkhaz,16. 0% Georgian,9. 7% Russian,1. 4% Mingrelian,1. 3% Ukrainian,1. 1% Armenian,0. 4% Greek and 0. 1% Svan
14.
Pitsunda
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Pitsunda or Bichvinta is a resort town in Gagra district of Abkhazia. The town was founded in the 5th century BC as Pityus or Pitiunt, the city was surrounded by a defensive wall, the castellum had a second line of defence built in mid-3rd century AD. Excavations guided by Andria Apakidze unearthed, in 1952, remains of three 4th-century churches and a bath with high-quality mosaic floors, the former Great Pityus harbour is now a mere lake within the town. The Goths attacked the city in 255 CE after taking the Bosporan fleet, the Roman garrison under the command of Successianus repelled the attack, however they returned in the next year, took the city and proceeded further to sack Trebizond. Saint John Chrysostom was being led towards Pityus by the soldiers, in execution of the decree of exile. Like Dioskurias, it remained under Roman control within the Georgian kingdom of Colchis until the 7th century, the city passed under Abasgian control and became one of the major political and religious centres of the kingdom of Egrisi. An archbishopric of Pitiunt was instituted in 541, in medieval Georgia, the towns name was spelled as Bichvinta. At the end of the 10th century, King Bagrat III of Georgia built there the Pitsunda Cathedral which survives to day and contains vestiges of wall-painting from the 13th. Bichvinta also served as the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Catholicate of Abkhazia until the late 16th century when Abkhazia came under the Ottoman hegemony within Georgia. In his 1911 article for the Catholic Encyclopedia, Sophrone Pétridès described Pityus as a titular see, in the late 13th century, the area housed a short-lived Genoese trade colony called Pezonda. Pitsunda was the resort of First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev. In October 1964 he happened to be vacationing in Pitsunda when he was deposed from power, in the end, the dam was built on the Inguri River instead, where the impact upon the coastline was assessed to be considerably less pronounced. On 7 February 2007, after appeals by inhabitants, the Peoples Assembly of Abkhazia resolved to give Pitsunda town-status. Parliamentarians expressed the hope that the decision would help Pitsunda develop as a resort, since becoming a town, the Mayor of Pitsunda is no longer appointed by the Governor of Gagra District but instead directly by the President of Abkhazia. On 29 January 2016, Pitsundas town-status was formally enshrined in Abkhazias constitution, in the 2011 assembly elections, Mayor Beslan Ardzinba and six other incumbent deputies of the Assembly stood for re-election. The winning candidates were Beslan Ardzinba, Badra Avidzba, Olga Grigorenko, Chengiz Bigvava, Georgi Zardania, Gennadi Cherkezia, Gennadi Mikanba, Damia Kokoskeria and Inessa Dzkuia. On 14 February, during the first session of the new convocation, Damir Kokoskeria was elected Chairman of the Assembly over Gennadi Cherkezia, following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 28 October 2014 he replaced Ardzinba as Mayor with Chingis Bigvava. Bigvava was not reappointed following the 2016 local elections
15.
Gantiadi
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Gantiadi or Tsandryphsh, is an urban-type settlement on the Black Sea coast in Georgia, in the Gagra District of Abkhazia,5 km from the Russian border. Gantiadi in historical times, was known as Sauchi, then, until 1944 as Yermolov, after the Russian general Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov. From 1944 until 1991, the settlement was known as Gantiadi, after the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, Gantiadi was renamed as Tsandrypsh by the de facto government, but the name Gantiadi is still used informally among Abkhazians and widely in other languages. The name Tsandrypsh derives from the princely family Tsanba, Gantiadi is said to have been the historical capital of the principality of Saniga before the 6th century AD. It later became the capital of Sadzen, in 2011, Gantiadi had a population of 5,170. Of these,55. 9% were Armenians,19. 6% Abkhaz,18. 4% Russians,1. 2% Ukrainians,0. 9% Georgians and 0. 7% Greeks, Tsandryphsh houses a 6th century Georgian Christian church. A personal residence of Joseph Stalin is also located here, de facto governments website of Gantiadi
16.
Gulripshi
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Gulripshi is an urban settlement in Abkhazia. It is located 12 km from Sukhumi, and is the capital of Gulripshi district, nikolay Smetskoy built three sanatoria in Gulripsh between 1902 and 1913 for patients with pulmonary diseases and founded several parks with subtropical plants. After the Russian Revolution the sanatoria were nationalised, Gulripshi has a humid subtropical climate
17.
Leselidze (town)
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Leselidze is a town in Abkhazia. Formerly named Yermolovsk, the town is located on the shores of the Black Sea and is 14 kilometers from the city of Gagra, the town was founded in the 19th century as the settlement Yermolovsk, named in honor of the Minister of Agriculture A. S. Yermolov who traveled to this place in 1894, some authors linked the name of the settlement to General Yermolov, but this presumption is apparently erroneous. In 1944 the town was renamed in honor of the national hero Colonel-General Konstantin Leselidze who fought in the Caucasus during the World War II. In the post-war years the town saw a lot of improvements, a childrens sanatorium was built as well as a resort and a sports training base. The base was favored by top Soviet athletes, Soviet Union national football team and other Soviet football clubs trained there as well as handball players and track-and-field athletes. In 1975 a monument of Konstantin Leselidze was erected in the town, in September 1992, after the fall of Gagra during the 1992–1993 war in Abkhazia, Abkhazian troops destroyed the monument along with other Georgian landmarks. In 1992, the town was renamed Gyachrypsh by the unregocnized Abkhazian authorities, the name “Gyachrypsh” originated from the territory which was ruled by the Abkhazian prince named Gech or Gechkuaj. In historical literature there is a variation, “Gechiler”, in autumn of 1993 in the vicinity of Gagra and the town Lеselidze the commander personally led a punitive action for the extermination of refugees. Several thousand Georgians were killed, hundreds of Armenian, Russian, according to the accounts of miraculously survived eyewitnesses, the bandits took pleasure in videotaping the scenes of abuse and rape. ”Under Abkhazian control the town is known to feature two all-inclusive resorts - Gech and Laguna. In 1959, Leselidze was principally inhabited by Russians, Armenians, and Estonians
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Flag of Georgia (country)
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The flag of Georgia, also known as the Five Cross Flag, is one of the national symbols of Georgia. Originally a banner of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia, it was back to popular use in the late 20th. Prior to obtaining its status in 2004, the flag was popularized by the United National Movement. The current flag was used by the Georgian patriotic movement following the independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. However, it was not endorsed by the President, Eduard Shevardnadze and it was adopted in the early 2000s by the main opposition party, the United National Movement led by Mikheil Saakashvili, as a symbol of popular resistance to Shevardnadzes rule. The flag was adopted by Parliament on 14 January 2004, Saakashvili formally endorsed it via Presidential Decree No.31 signed on 25 January, following his election as President. 14 January is annually marked as a Flag Day in Georgia, the national flag of Georgia, as described in the decree, The Georgian national flag is a white rectangle, with in its central portion a large red cross touching all four sides of the flag. In the four there are four bolnur-katskhuri crosses of the same colour. The first Georgian flag design came about during the era of the early Georgian state, the subsequent Principality of Tao-Klarjeti, shared this same flag. The flag of the Kingdom of Abkhazia had 4 green strips in a position on the right side. The white flag with the single red St. Georges cross was used by King Vakhtang I in the 5th century. According to tradition, Queen Tamar used a flag with a red cross. In the 1367 map by Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano, the flag of Tifilis is shown as a Jerusalem cross, according to D. Kldiashvili, the Jerusalem cross might have been adopted during the reign of King George V. After the collapse of the Kingdom of Georgia, its successor states adopted their own flags, the kingdom was formed through the unification of Kartli and Kakheti. The flag had a cross against a black background. The country lost its independence in 1801 to annexation by the Russian Empire, while not technically a Georgian flag, this flag is of importance as Georgia was one of the founding countries of the federation. The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republics flag was a design, with a top band of dark yellow, a middle band of black. During Georgias brief existence as an independent state as the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921, the design resulted from a national flag-designing contest won by the painter Iakob Nikoladze
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Coat of arms of Georgia (country)
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The coat of arms of Georgia is one of the national symbols of the republic. It is partially based on the arms of the Georgian royal house and features Saint George. In addition to St. Gules, with an image of Saint George, riding a horse trampling upon a dragon, whose head is pierced by the saints spear. It has two lions rampant as supporters of the shield, which is surmounted with the crown of Georgia. The motto below the shield reads as Strength is in Unity, 1918-1921 and 1991-2004, This coat of arms was in use by the Democratic Republic of Georgia throughout its existence in 1918-1921. However, a decision was made in favor of Saint George. Restored in 1991, this coat of arms was replaced by the current one in 2004. 1801-1917, Before 1917, when Georgia was part of the Russian Empire, the Georgian coat of arms appeared on the Greater Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, as part of the coat of arms of Caucasus. Before 1801, Coats of arms were mostly those of the Bagrationi, who claimed to have King David among their ancestors, Coat of arms of the Bagrationi dynasty Pogoń Ruska coat of arms President of Georgia website The Georgian Coat of Arms in, Georgian History by Giorgi Gabeskiria
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Adjara
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Adjara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, is a historical, geographic and political-administrative region of Georgia. Located in the southwestern corner, Adjara lies on the coast of the Black Sea near the foot of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains. It is an important tourism destination and includes Georgias second-largest city of Batumi as its capital, about 350,000 people live on its 2,880 km2. Adjara is home to the Adjarians, a subgroup of Georgians. Adjaras name can be spelled in a number of ways, including Ajara, Ajaria, Adjaria, Adzharia, under the Soviet Union, Adjara was part of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic as the Adjarian ASSR. Adjara has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times, colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the region of Egrisi before being incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD, the Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. The people of Adjara converted to Islam in this period, the Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878. After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, the Soviet Union established the Adjar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause. Thus, Adjara was still a component part of Georgia, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Adjara became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991 and 1993 due largely to the rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze, in the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation, however, Saakashvilis ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidzes autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidzes ousting, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Adjaras autonomy, levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government. In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi, in November 2007 Russia ended its two century military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base in Batumi. Since mid-2000s Turkey has expanded its influence over Adjara, Turkish influence can be seen in the regions economy and in the religious life—through the regions Muslim population. The status of the Adjaran Autonomous Republic is defined by Georgias law on Adjara, the local legislative body is the Parliament. Zurab Pataridze is the current head of the Adjaran government, Adjara is subdivided into six administrative units, Adjara is located on the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea and extends into the wooded foothills and mountains of the Lesser Caucasus
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Batumi
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Batumi is the second largest city of Georgia, located on the coast of the Black Sea in the countrys southwest. Much of Batumis economy revolves around tourism and gambling, but the city is also an important sea port and includes industries like shipbuilding, food processing and light manufacturing. Since 2010, Batumi has been transformed by the construction of modern high-rise buildings, Batumi is located on the site of the ancient Greek colony in Colchis called Bathus or Bathys – derived from the Greek phrase βαθύς λιμεν bathus limen or βαθύς λιμήν bathys limin meaning deep harbor. Under Hadrian, it was converted into a fortified Roman port, from 1010, it was governed by the eristavi of the king of Georgia. In the late 15th century, after the disintegration of the Georgian kingdom, Batumi passed to the princes of Guria, de Thoisy was taken captive and released through the mediation of the emperor John IV of Trebizond. In the 15th century in the reign of the prince Kakhaber Gurieli and they returned to it in force a century later and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Georgian armies at Sokhoista. Batumi was recaptured by the Georgians several times, first in 1564 by prince Rostom Gurieli, who lost it soon afterwards, in 1723, Batumi again became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was the last Black Sea port annexed by Russia during the Russian conquest of that area of the Caucasus, in 1878, Batumi was annexed by the Russian Empire in accordance with the Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Occupied by the Russians on August 28,1878, the town was declared a port until 1886. It functioned as the center of a military district until being incorporated in the Government of Kutaisi on June 12,1883. Finally, on June 1,1903, with the Okrug of Artvin, it was established as the region of Batumi, the expansion of Batumi began in 1883 with the construction of the Batumi-Tiflis-Baku railway and the finishing of the Baku-Batumi pipeline. Henceforth, Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea, the town expanded to an extraordinary extent and the population increased rapidly, from 8,671 inhabitants in 1882 to 12,000 in 1889. By 1902 the population had reached 16,000, with 1,000 working in the refinery for Baron Rothschilds Caspian, in the late 1880s and after, more than 7400 Doukhobor emigrants sailed for Canada from Batumi, after the government agreed to let them emigrate. Canada settled them in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, during 1901, sixteen years prior to the October Revolution, Joseph Stalin, the future leader of the Soviet Union, lived in the city organizing strikes. Kemal Atatürk ceded the area to the Bolsheviks of the Soviet Union on the condition that it be granted autonomy, when the USSR collapsed in 1989, Aslan Abashidze was appointed head of Adjaras governing council and subsequently held onto power throughout the unrest of the 1990s. Whilst other regions, such as Abkhazia, attempted to break away from the Georgian state, Abashidze exploited the central governments weaknesses and ruled the area as a personal fiefdom. In May 2004, he fled to Russia because of protests in Tbilisi sparked by the Rose Revolution. Batumi today is one of the port cities of Georgia
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Kobuleti
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Kobuleti is a town in Adjara, western Georgia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is the seat of Kobuleti Municipality and a resort, visited annually by Georgians. The town is situated in the part of Georgia, i. e. the northern part of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara. It borders with Ozurgeti Region to the north, the Regional centre is Kobuleti City, which stretches along the Black Sea shore. Kobuleti Region consists of one municipal, two district and seventeen village councils, there are 48 villages in the Region. Representatives of 24 different nationalities live together with Georgians in the Region, Kobuleti is known with its traditions, hospitality, climatic areas, mild subtropical climate, ionized maritime air, bright shining sun and warm sea. The unique sandy beach widely inclined to the sea is noted with its marvelous views beautified by sky-scraped endemic pine trees, eucalypts, bamboo, cypress grove, date, the Kintrishi and Tikeri reserve areas are unique with their bio-diversity. One can find rare flora in the Ispani marsh, the surrounding region has diverse soil, seashore lowland is rich in peatbog soil. There are alpine rocks in the highlands, red soil is found in the hill areas, the mountainous area is good for subtropical species. The most important ones are the Kintrishi River, the Chakvistskali River, the Acharistskali River, the Ochkhamuri River, the Achkva River, Kintrishi Protected Landscape and Kobuleti Managed Reserve are located in Kobuleti. Kakhaber Mzhavanadze, footballer Jano Ananidze, footballer Media related to Kobuleti at Wikimedia Commons
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Makhinjauri
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Makhinjauri is a small town in Adjara, Georgia, with the population of 735 according to the 2014 census. It is located on the Black Sea coast,5 km north of Batumi, the capital of Adjara, the Makhinjauri railway station is the one serving Batumi. Administratively, Makhinjauri was part of the Khelvachauri district from 1959 to 2011, located within the range of 15 m to 1,300 m above sea level, Makhinjauri possesses humid subtropical climate, with warmer winters and cooler summers compared to Batumi. Makhinjauri functions as a climatic spa and is part of the group of resorts on Georgias southwestern Black Sea coast located around Batumi. The toponym Makhinjauri is derived from the Georgian word makhinji, meaning ugly or mutilated, a legend holds that the area was a scene of a crackdown on Christians by the Ottoman soldiers in which several people were mutilated. Owing to its climate and sulphur springs, the then-village Makhinjauri was developed into a resort under the Imperial Russian rule around 1904. One of the mansions built at that time and then owned by the Siberian gold magnate Alexander Sibiryakov is now in use as the rest-house Narinji. In 1906, during the upheaval in the Caucasus, Makhinjauri was the scene of a resounding murder of the British-American diplomat William Horwood Stuart. Under the Soviet rule, Makhinjauri was granted the status of a settlement in 1959. It was popularized in the Georgian SSR as a resort with the options of climatotherapy. As of the 2002 census, Makhinjauri had the population of 3,400, starting from 2006, Makhinjauri saw its infrastructure improved and modernized
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Chakvi
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Chakvi, also spelled Chakva, is a resort town in Georgia by the Black Sea coast. It is part of Kobuleti Municipality, Chakvi is known throughout Georgia as being the birthplace of tea production in Georgia. Chakvi was one of several tea producing areas that produced tea for the Soviet Union, wild tea plants can still be found, and some limited tea production still continues, in the hills above Chakvi. In July 2007 the $600,000 Chakvi radar station was constructed through oversight of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District and it serves both the commercial and military port. Media related to Chakvi at Wikimedia Commons
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Khulo
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Khulo is a townlet in Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia,88 km east of the regional capital Batumi, in the upper valley of Adjaris-tsqali. The town and adjoining 78 villages form the mountainous Khulo District, area –710 km2, population –23,327. The town, formerly known as Khula and Hulo, was a merchant place located on a road that linked Samtskhe-Javakheti to the Black Sea coast. During Ottoman times, Khulo was a settlement of Upper Adjara governed by the Khimshiashvili family. In 1829, it was occupied by the Russian force of General Osten-Sacken who sacked the Khimshiashvili residence before withdrawal. Khulos population, largely Islamized under the Ottomans, diminished dramatically under the Russian oppression of Islam in the 1870s, a series of floods and avalanches in the 1990s-2000s induced another wave of migration from the mountainous villages of the rayon. In the district are medieval historical monuments - Khikhani Fortress where rebel against Ottoman Empire Selim Beg Khimshiashvili was defending himself until he was captured and beheaded in 1785, on the way to Khikhani fortress there is an active Monastery of Skhalta cathedral
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Guria
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Guria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 113,000, with Ozurgeti as the regional capital, Guria is bordered by Samegrelo to the north-west, Imereti to the north, Samtskhe-Javakheti to the east, Ajaria to the south, and the Black Sea to the west. The province has an area of 2,033 km², Guria is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude. Guria consists of three municipalities, Ozurgeti Lanchkhuti Chokhatauri The toponym Guria is first attested in the c.800 Georgian chronicle of Pseudo-Juansher. The principality, comprising modern Guria and much of Adjara with the city of Batumi, was reduced in size. There were uprisings against Russian rule in 1819 and again in 1841, in 1840, Guria was made a county and renamed Ozurgeti, after one of its main towns. In 1846, it was transferred to the new Kutais Governorate, by 1904, the population was just under 100,000, occupying an area of approximately 532,000 acres of mountains and swampy valleys, covered by corn fields, vineyards, and some tea plantations. The peasants’ self-government, the so-called Gurian Republic, survived into 1906, the region was a native powerbase of the Georgian Social Democratic Party which dominated the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921. Guria was a scene of guerrilla resistance to the militarily imposed Soviet rule early in the 1920s, under the Soviet government, Guria was an agrarian area divided into three administrative districts. In 1995, the Georgian government decreed the creation of the region of Guria, the Orthodox churches of Likhauri and Shemokmedi are the main historical buildings in the province. According to an explanation, in the times of Georgia’s prosperity. The linguistic evidence for the hypothesis is the Megrelian for “heart” – “guri”. Subtropic farming and tourism is a mainstay of the region’s economy, water is one of the Guria’s main assets. The province is famous for the water of Nabeglavi, which is similar to Borjomi in its chemical composition. Guria is also one of the largest tea growing regions in Georgia, the Gurians or Gurulebi is one of the ethnographical groups of Georgians, inhabiting Guria. Gurians are Orthodox Christian and speak the Gurian dialect of the Georgian language, gabriel Kikodze, the Bishop of Imereti. Noe Zhordania, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from 1918 to 1921, pavle Ingorokva, historian, philologist, and public benefactor
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Ozurgeti
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Ozurgeti is the capital of the western Georgian province of Guria. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze and it is a regional center of tea and hazelnut processing. Ozurgeti was founded in the late Middle Ages and was at one time the capital of the Principality of Guria, in later centuries it became a trading center, as evidenced by the discovery of a hoard of 270 silver coins under the city. Ozurgeti was officially designated a city in 1840, in the 19th century, Frederic Dubois de Montperreux, Dimitri Bakradze, Sergey Meskhi, and Tedo Sakhokia traveled to Ozurgeti and published descriptions of the city. Ozurgeti was a location in the Russo-Turkish War. In the 19th century Governor Mikhail Vorontsov ordered the planting of Isabella grape seedlings in a garden off of the central square. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, the city and its district were renamed Makharadze in honor of the Bolshevik revolutionary Filipp Makharadze, the city reverted to its original name in the 1990s after Georgia regained independence. The borders of the city expanded in the 1990s, annexing the outlying settlement of Anaseuli, Theater The Ozurgeti Dramatic Theatre overlooks the citys central square. It is named in honor of Alexander Tsutsunava, whose statue stands in an adjoining park and it was founded in 1868, and the first production was a performance by local amateur actors. A new theater building was constructed in 1914, in 1933, another new building was constructed. In 1962, the theater was moved to yet another building and it is one of the largest theaters in Georgia. In 1968, a centennial celebration was held in the building. In 2005, the Ministry of Culture and the Theater Workers’ Union declared the Ozurgeti Dramatic Theater to be the best regional theater in Georgia. History Museum The Ozurgeti Historical Museum was founded in 1936, moved to Gurieli Palace in 1974 and it also houses a collection of old printed books. Sport Ozurgeti has rugby and football clubs, There are two stadia in the city, Friendship Stadium belongs to the municipality and is used by the football club, Zvani Stadium is used by the rugby club. In 2007, a palace, ” containing a space that can be converted into a miniature football stadium, a volleyball court, a basketball court. Education The first school in the city was established on February 21,1850, at various times, Simon Gugunava, Niko Mari, and Ekvtime Takaishvili attended the school. On July 1,1874 the school came under municipal administration, interest in education and literacy was increasing at this time
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Lanchkhuti
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Lanchkhuti is a city in western Georgian region of Guria. It has a population of about 8000, Lanchkhuti received city status in 1961. Under the USSR, it was the centre of the Georgian SSR Lanchkhuti area, Lanchkhuti is an industrial town with a tea processing factory, cannery, meat and dairy factory and a brick and tile factory. The town is served by a station on the Samtredia - Batumi line
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Chokhatauri
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Chokhatauri is a town in Georgia’s Guria region,310 km west to the nation’s capital of Tbilisi. It is a center of Chokhatauri Municipality, which comprises the town itself. The area of the district is 824 km2, population –24,090, several historical monuments are scattered across the district, e. g. an early medieval fortress of Bukistsikhe, and a monastic complex of Udabno. Near the town is a health resort based on the mineral water Nabeglavi. Bakhmaro is another nearby mountain resort that is famous for its unique wooden cottages on stilts in the mist of the mountains, Nabeglavi mineral water and Bakhmaro spring water are bottled by Healthy Water Ltd. in Chokhatauri. Media related to Chokhatauri at Wikimedia Commons Chokhatauri travel guide from Wikivoyage
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Ureki
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Ureki is a town and a seaside climatic resort on the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Located within Ozurgeti District in the region of Guria, Ureki is 60 kilometers north of Batumi and it is located 4 meters above the sea level and has a population of 1,422. It received a status of a town in 1953, unlike many areas on the Black Sea, in Ureki beaches are sandy, rather than covered in pebbles. The sand in Ureki is classified as black sand and has magnetic properties, hence the name Ureki, which is a modified version of a turkish word yürek, meaning a heart. Ureki Map — Satellite Images of Ureki
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Imereti
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Imereti is a region in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river. Traditionally, Imereti is a region, known for its mulberries and grapes. The 800,000 Imeretians speak a Georgian dialect, they are one of the local culture-groups of the ethnically subdivided Georgian people, in late antiquity and early Middle Ages the ancient western Georgian kingdom of Egrisi existed on the territory of Imereti. Its king declared Christianity as a religion of Egrisi in 523 AD. In 975-1466 Imereti was part of the united Georgian Kingdom, since its disintegration in the 15th century, Imereti was an independent kingdom. In the 17th-18th centuries the kingdom of Imereti suffered frequent invasions by the Turks and paid patronage to the Ottoman Empire until 1810, the last King of Imereti was Solomon II. From 1918–1921, Imereti was part of the independent Democratic Republic of Georgia, within the USSR, the region was part of the Transcaucasian SFSR from 1922–1936, and part of the Georgian SSR from 1936–1991. Since Georgian independence in 1991, Imereti has been a region of Georgia with Kutaisi as the regional capital, Kingdom of Imereti Subdivisions of Georgia Imereti. com - The Guide to Imereti, Georgia, Sakartvelo Official website Civil. GE
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Kutaisi
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Kutaisi is the legislative capital of Georgia, and its 3rd most populous city. Situated 221 kilometres west of Tbilisi, it is the capital of the region of Imereti. Kutaisi is located along banks of the Rioni River. The city lies at an elevation of 125–300 metres above sea level, to the east and northeast, Kutaisi is bounded by the Northern Imereti Foothills, to the north by the Samgurali Range, and to the west and the south by the Colchis Plain. Kutaisi is surrounded by deciduous forests to the northeast and the northwest, the low-lying outskirts of the city have a largely agricultural landscape. The city centre has many gardens its streets are lined with high, in the springtime, when the snow starts to melt in the nearby mountains, the storming Rioni River in the middle of the city is heard far beyond its banks. Kutaisi has a subtropical climate with a well-defined on-shore/monsoonal flow during the Autumn. The summers are hot and relatively dry while the winters are wet. Average annual temperature in the city is 14.5 degrees Celsius, january is the coldest month with an average temperature of 5.3 degrees Celsius while July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius. The absolute minimum recorded temperature is −17 degrees Celsius and the maximum is 44 degrees Celsius. Average annual precipitation is around 1,530 mm, rain may fall in every season of the year. The city often experiences heavy, wet snowfall in the winter, Kutaisi experiences powerful easterly winds in the summer which descend from the nearby mountains. Kutaisi was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Colchis, archaeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of the kingdom of Colchis in the sixth to fifth centuries BC. From 978 to 1122 CE, Kutaisi was the capital of the united Kingdom of Georgia, in 1508, the city was captured by Selim I, who was the son of Bayezid II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. During the seventeenth century, Imeretian kings made many appeals to Russia to help them in their struggle for independence from the Ottomans, all these appeals were ignored as Russia did not want to spoil relations with Turkey. Totleben helped King Solomon I of Imereti to recover his capital, Kutaisi, finally, the Russian-Turkish wars ended in 1810 with the annexation of the Imeretian Kingdom by the Russian Empire. The city was the capital of the Gubernia of Kutaisi, which included much of west Georgia, in March 1879, the city was the site of a blood- libel trial that attracted attention all over Russia, the ten accused Jews were acquitted. Kutaisi was an industrial center before Georgias independence in 1991
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Chiatura
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Chiatura is a city in the Imereti region of Western Georgia. In 1989, it had a population of about 30,000, the city is located inland, in a mountain valley on the banks of the Qvirila River. In 1879 the Georgian poet Akaki Tsereteli explored the area in search of manganese and iron ores, after other intense explorations it was discovered that there are several layers of commercially exploitable manganese oxide, peroxide and carbonate with thickness varying between 0.2 m and 16 m. The state set-up the JSC Chiaturmanganese company to manage and exploit the huge deposit, the gross-balance of workable manganese ores of all commercial categories is estimated as 239 million tonnes, which include manganese oxide ores, carbonate ores, and peroxide ores. As a result, the company developed a rail link to transport ore to the ferro-alloy plant in Zestaphoni. Manganese production rose to 60% of global output by 1905, in Chiatura are located the Tsereteli State Theater,10 schools, Faculty of the Georgian Technical University, and the Mgvimevi Cathedral. During the 1905 Russian Revolution Chiatura was the only Bolshevik stronghold in mostly Menshevik Georgia,3,700 miners worked 18 hours a day sleeping in the mines, always covered in soot. Joseph Stalin persuaded them to back Bolshevism during a debate with the Mensheviks and they preferred his simple 15-minute speech to his rivals oratory. They called him sergeant major Koba and he set up a printing press, protection racket and red battle squads. Stalin put Vano Kiasashvili in charge of the armed miners, the mine owners actually sheltered him as he would protect them from thieves in return and he destroyed mines whose owners refused to pay up. In 1906 a gold train carrying the wages was attacked by Kote Tsintsadzes Druzhina. They fought for two hours, killing a Gendarme and soldier, and stealing 21,000 roubles, the miners went on a successful 55-day strike in June–July 1913. They demanded an 8-hour day, higher wages and no more night work, the police allowed the RSDRP to lead the strike provided they didnt make any political demands. They were supported by fellow strikers in Batumi and Poti, Chiatura is the seat of the Archbishop of Chiatura. Due to the steep sided valley, production workers spent a large amount of time walking up from the town to the mines. In 1954 an extensive cable car system was installed to transport workers around the valley, still utilising the same infrastructure installed originally in the 1950s, today some 17 separate aerial lift cable car systems still exist around the town. Some of the most interesting lines are just outside the city, keila, Estonia Sigulda, Latvia Nikopol, Ukraine
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Baghdati
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Baghdati is a town of 4,800 people in the Imereti region of western Georgia, at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the river Khanistsqali, a tributary of the Rioni. The town is located at the edge of the Ajameti forest on the bank of the Khanistsqali River. The climate of Baghdati can be classified as humid subtropical. Baghdati is one of the oldest villages in the historical Imereti region and its name shares the same origins as the name of the capital of Iraq, Baghdad, هدیه Bag god and خدا dāti given, which can be translated as God-given or Gods gift in old Persian. When Georgia was part of the Russian Empire and during the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1940, it was renamed Mayakovsky, after the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky who was born here in 1893. In 1981, Mayakovsky was granted town status, in 1991, slightly modified original name was restored. In Baghdati there is a factory and companies in the food industry. The nearest railway stations are located in Rioni and Kutaisi, Baghdati has the Vladimir Mayakovsky Museum and a National Theatre
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Georgia
