Signakh uezd

The Signakh uezd^{[lower-alpha 1]} was a county (uezd) of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and then of Democratic Republic of Georgia, with its administrative centre in Signakh (present-day Signagi).^[1] The area of the county roughly corresponded to the contemporary Kakheti region of Georgia.

Signakh uezd Сигнахскій уѣздъ
Uezd
Coat of arms
Location in the Tiflis Governorate
Country	Russian Empire
Viceroyalty	Caucasus
Governorate	Tiflis
Established	1801
Abolished	1929
Capital	Signakh (present-day Signagi)
Area
• Total	6,022.39 km2 (2,325.26 sq mi)
Population  (1916)
• Total	153,864
• Density	26/km2 (66/sq mi)
• Urban	11.48%
• Rural	88.52%

History

Following the Russian Revolution, the Signakh uezd was incorporated into the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia.^[1]

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Signakh uezd in 1913 were as follows:^[2]

Name	1912 population	Area
Bakurtsikhskiy uchastok (Бакурцихскій участокъ)	23,881	1,170.96 square versts (1,332.63 km2; 514.53 sq mi)
Kodalskiy uchastok (Кодальскій участокъ)	50,638	1,205.14 square versts (1,371.52 km2; 529.55 sq mi)
Nizhne-Machkhaanskiy uchastok (Нижне-Мачхаанскій участокъ)	53,588	733.29 square versts (834.53 km2; 322.21 sq mi)
Shirakskiy uchastok (Ширакскій участокъ)	6,222	2,182.40 square versts (2,483.71 km2; 958.96 sq mi)
Zaalazanskiy raion (Заалазанскій раіонъ)	12,645	–

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Signakh uezd had a population of 102,313 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 55,958 men and 46,355 women. The majority of the population indicated Georgian to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian and Tatar^{[lower-alpha 2]} speaking minorities.^[5]

Linguistic composition of the Signakh uezd in 1897^[5]

Language	Native speakers	%
Georgian	84,827	82.91
Armenian	6,392	6.25
Tatar[lower-alpha 2]	5,272	5.15
Russian	4,413	4.31
Ukrainian	447	0.44
Avar-Andean	279	0.27
Lithuanian	187	0.18
Polish	126	0.12
Jewish	108	0.11
Belarusian	50	0.05
German	44	0.04
Imeretian	39	0.04
Ossetian	30	0.03
Czech	12	0.01
Persian	11	0.01
Kazi-Kumukh	10	0.01
Greek	8	0.01
Mingrelian	8	0.01
Latvian	6	0.01
Dargin	4	0.00
Italian	1	0.00
Kist	1	0.00
Kyurin	1	0.00
Other	37	0.04
TOTAL	102,313	100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Signakh uezd had a population of 153,864 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 80,670 men and 73,194 women, 148,646 of whom were the permanent population, and 5,218 were temporary residents:^[6]

Nationality	Urban		Rural		TOTAL
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Georgians	8,493	48.09	109,790	80.61	118,283	76.88
Armenians	8,970	50.79	6,038	4.43	15,008	9.75
Russians	179	1.01	11,500	8.44	11,679	7.59
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 3]	0	0.00	3,275	2.40	3,275	2.13
Asiatic Christians	0	0.00	3,201	2.35	3,201	2.08
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 4]	0	0.00	1,862	1.37	1,862	1.21
Jews	7	0.04	324	0.24	331	0.22
North Caucasians	0	0.00	210	0.15	210	0.14
Other Europeans	13	0.07	2	0.00	15	0.01
TOTAL	17,662	100.00	136,202	100.00	153,864	100.00

See also

• History of the administrative division of Russia

Notes

1. • Russian: Сигна́хскій уѣ́здъ, romanized: Signákhsky uyézd
   • Georgian: სიღნაღის მაზრა, romanized: sighnaghis mazra
2. Before 1918, Azerbaijanis were generally known as "Tatars". This term, employed by the Russians, referred to Turkic-speaking Muslims of the South Caucasus. After 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".^[3][4]
3. Primarily Tatars.^[7]
4. Primarily Turco-Tatars.^[7]

References

1. Tsutsiev 2014.
2. Кавказский календарь на 1913 год, pp. 164–175.
3. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
4. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
5. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
6. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 206–213.
7. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

Bibliography

• Bournoutian, George A. (2018). Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900–1914. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-06260-2. OCLC 1037283914.

• Hovannisian, Richard G. (1971). The Republic of Armenia: The First Year, 1918–1919. Vol. 1. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520019843.
• Кавказский календарь на 1913 год [Caucasian calendar for 1913] (in Russian) (68th ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1913. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022.
• Кавказский календарь на 1917 год [Caucasian calendar for 1917] (in Russian) (72nd ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1917. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021.
• Tsutsiev, Arthur (2014). Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus (PDF). Translated by Nora Seligman Favorov. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300153088. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2023.

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