Kars Oblast
| Kars Oblast (English) Карсская область (Modern Russian) Карсская область (Pre-1918 Russian) |
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|---|---|
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| Coat of Arms | |
 Coat of arms of the Kars Oblast |
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| Established | 1878 |
| Abolished | 1917 |
| Political status Region |
Oblast Caucasus |
| Area | |
| Area - Rank |
16,473 verst² n/a |
| Population (1897 census) | |
| Population - Rank - Density - Urban - Rural |
290,654 inhabitants n/a 17.6 inhab. / verst² n/a n/a |
| Government | |
| First Head Last Head |
n/a n/a |
Kars Oblast (Russian: Карсская область, Karsskaya 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.
Contents |
[edit] History
Kars Oblast 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. [1]
With the incorporation of the region into Russian Empire, a large portion (82,000 during 1878-81, according to Russian sources[1]) 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).
[edit] Administrative division
Since 1881, Kars Oblast consisted of four okrugs (districts):
- Kars (Карсский округ)
- Ardahan (Ардаганский округ)
- Kağızman (Кагызманский округ)
- Oltu (Ольтинский округ)
Two more okrugs, Zarushat (Заришат) and Shoragyal (Шорагял; also spelt Shuregel) existed in 1878-81.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] 1892
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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:[1]
- Turks (this number also included a some Adjarians): 24% (Sunni Muslims)
- Armenians: 21.5%
- Kurds: 15% (Sunni Muslims and some Yazidi)
- Muslim Karapapaks: 14% (Sunni and some Shi'a)
- Alevi Karapapaks (reported as 'Turkmen'): 5%
- Pontic Greeks: 13.5% (Orthodox Christians)
- Russians: 7% (mostly "sectarians", i.e. Molokans, Doukhobors, etc.)
The religious composition of the population was reported as follows:
- Orthodox Christians: 14%
- "Sectarians" (Molokans, Doukhobors, etc.): 5%
- Armenian Apostolic Church: 21%
- Other Christian churches: 0.75%
- Muslims: 53%, among which:
- Alevi (reported as "Ali Illahi"): 5%
- Yazidi: 1.25%
[edit] 1897
The Russian Empire Census 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:[2]
- Turkic: 104,457, including:
- Armenian: 73,406
- Kurdish: 42,968
- Pontic Greeks: 32,593
- East Slavic: 27,856, including:
- Russian: 22,327
- Ukrainian: 5,279
- Belarusian: 250
- Polish: 3243
- Jewish (Yiddish etc.): 1,138
- Lithuanian: 892
- Chaldean Neo-Aramaic ('Assyrian'): 585
- Persian: 568
- Georgian: 543
- Ossetian: 520
- Estonian: 455
- Lezgin: 448
- German: 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 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[3]
| Okrug (district) | Armenians | Turks | Kurds | Greeks | Karapapak | Russians | Turkmens | Ukrainians | Poles | Tatars (Azerbaijani) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 25,3 % | 21,9 % | 14,8 % | 11,2 % | 10,3 % | 7,7 % | 2,9 % | 1,8 % | 1,1 % | … |
| Ardahan | 2,9 % | 42,6 % | 19,1 % | 11,9 % | 12,0 % | 3,0 % | 6,6 % | … | … | … |
| Kaghzvan | 36,5 % | 8,7 % | 29,9 % | 12,2 % | … | 4,4 % | 1,1 % | 2,4 % | 1,5 % | 1,5 % |
| Kars | 34,8 % | 7,9 % | 6,8 % | 11,0 % | 16,4 % | 12,6 % | 1,8 % | 2,5 % | 1,6 % | 1,1 % |
| Olti | 9,9 % | 62,6 % | 11,1 % | 8,6 % | … | 2,8 % | 3,2 % | … | … | … |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Карсская область (Kars Oblast) in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (Russian)
- ^ Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и регионам (Census 1897)
- ^ Демоскоп Weely - Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и уездам. Российской Империи кроме губерний Европейской России
