Tiflis Governorate

Tiflis Governorate (Old Russian: Тифлисская губернiя; Georgian: თბილისის გუბერნია) was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire with its centre in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi, capital of Georgia). In 1897 it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population of 1,051,032 inhabitants. The governorate used to border Elisabethpol Governorate, Erivan Governorate, Kutaisi Governorate, Zakatali okrug, Dagestan Oblast, Terek Oblast, and Kars Oblast. It was covered present southeastern Georgia, northern Armenia and northwestern Azerbaijan.

Tiflis Governorate was established in 1846 along with the Kutaisi Governorate, after the dissolution of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate. It was initially formed from uzeyds of Tiflis, Gori, Telavi, Signakh, Yelizavetpol, Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol and okrugs of Zakataly, Ossetian and Tushino-pshaw-Khevsurian. In 1849, uzeyds of Erivan, Nakhichevan and Alexandropol was attached to Erivan Governorate. In 1859 Ossetian okrug was became part of Gori district and Tushino-pshaw-Khevsurian okrug was renamed as Tionets one. In 1867, northern part of Tiflis uzeyd was separated as Dusheti one and Akhaltsikhe uzeyd (It was created after ceding from Ottoman Empire to Russian Empire in 1829) was detached from Kutaisi Governorate and part of Tiflis one. In 1868 Yelizavetpol uzeyd (At same decree, Kazakh uzeyd was formed from northwestern part of Yelizavetpol one and was attached to Elisabethpol Governorate) was part of Elisabethpol Governorate. In 1874, southern part of Akhaltsikhe uzeyds was become Akhalkalaki one and Tionets okrug was elevated as uzeyd. Finally southern part of Tiflis uzeyd was become Borchali one. The governorate lasted in these boundaries for 50 years, until the Democratic Republic of Georgia was founded.