Erivan Governorate

Erivan Governorate Coat of Arms (1878–1918)

Erivan Governorate (Old Russian: Эриванская губернія) was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). 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 Nakhichevan exclave. By 1897, there were 829,556 inhabitants.

In 1828, the khanates of Erivan and the Nakhchivan became part of the Russian Empire in accordance with the Treaty of Turkmenchay. They were included into a single administrative unit named Armenian oblast. In 1850, the oblast was reorganized into a governorate and by 1872 it consisted of 7 uyezds. In 1918, most of Erivan Governorate became part of the Democratic Republic of Armenia.

Administrative division

Erivan Governorate consisted of the following uyezds:

• Erivan
• Alexandropol
• Nakhichevan
• Echmiadzin
• Novobayazet
• Sardarabad
• Surmali (also known as Surmalu)
• Sharur-Daralagyoz

Demographics

According to the Russian census of 1897, the majority of the governorate's population was Armenian (56%) and Azeri Tartar (37.5%). The Azeri Tartars were in a majority in the Erivan, Nakhichevan, Sharur-Daralagyoz, and Surmali districts; the other three uyezds were predominantly Armenian. Other ethnic minorities included Kurds (5.9%), Russians (2.1%), as well as smaller numbers of Greeks, Georgians, Jews and Gypsies.

See also

• Russian Armenia
• Armenian oblast