Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti - History

History

Most of the Armenians in the region immigrated from the province of Erzerum in the Ottoman Empire after the area became part of Russia in 1829 while most of the Muslims (Meskhetian Turks and Adjaris) in the region emigrated to the Ottoman Empire. More Armenians came to region later on as a result of Turkish massacres and the Armenian genocide.

Ethnic Armenians are chiefly concentrated in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda districts. At the beginning of 1918 in Akhalkalaki region had 120,000 population, from which Armenians were 89,000 (74%), Meskhetian Turks were 8,000 (7%), representatives of other nationalities 23,000 (19%) During this period in Ahalkalak district there were 111 villages from which 66 were Armenian, 24 Turkish, 9 Russian, 10 Georgian (including former Armenian villages Vargav and Hzabavra, the population of which had assimilated with Georgians), and one village with the Armenian-Georgian mixed population.

In 1944 the government of the Soviet Union decided to exile the Meskhetian Turkish population living in Meskheti (approximately 100,000 person) to Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan). The five villages of Sagamo, Khavet, Erindja, Davnia, and Karsep in the Akhalkalaki district and the Bogdanovka areas were settled by Armenians.

Read more about this topic:  Armenians In Samtskhe-Javakheti

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