BATUM OBLAST ACCORDING TO MATERIALS PRESERVED AT THE KUTAISI CENTRAL ARCHIVE

Abstract

When researching the recent and modern periods of Georgian history, it is extremely important to find and analyze diverse documentary sources. The use and examination of archival materials are particularly important among them. In this article, we attempted to research and present information from diverse and interesting materials preserved at the Kutaisi Central Archive related to the Batum Oblast during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because this material is diverse and extensive, it is difficult to discuss it thoroughly in a single publication. After all, Batum Oblast was part of the Kutaisi Governorate for 20 years (1883-1903). Various agencies of the Kutaisi Governorate such as Gendarmerie Division, District Court, Provincial Division of Agriculture and State Property, and other powers had authority over Batum Oblast as well, representatives of these agencies were present in their capacity as assistants. These representatives provided all available information to the Governorate authorities, and as a result, valuable information about the administrative, socio-political, economic, social, and cultural development of Batum oblast, along with the colonial policy of tsarism, can be found in the annual reviews (the so-called «Obzorvs») of the Kutaisi Governorate. Our objective is to study these issues, which are the subject of the presented paper.