Baku Governorate

The Baku Governorate (Russian: Бакинская губерния, Pre-Reform Russian: Бакинская губернія) was one of the guberniyas of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Baku. Area (1897): 34,4000 sq. versts, population (1897): 789,659.[1] The only foreign border of the governorate was Persia to the south. Within the empire, it bordered the Elisabethpol Governorate (the Tiflis and Erivan Governorates before 1868) and the Dagestan Oblast.

Baku Governorate

Бакинская губерния
Coat of arms
CountryRussia
Political statusGovernorate
RegionCaucasus Viceroyalty
Established1846 as Shamakhi Governorate;
renamed to Baku Governorate
in 1859
Abolished1917
Area
 • City39,149 km2 (15,116 sq mi)
Population
 (1897)
 • City789,659
 • Density20/km2 (52/sq mi)
 • Urban
19.80%
 • Rural
80.20%

The governorate was originally established in 1846 as the Shamakhi Governorate, replacing what had been several military precincts. After the 1859 Shamakhi earthquake, the capital of the governorate was transferred from Shamakhi to Baku. On July 12, 1859, the governorate's name was changed accordingly. The coat of arms of the governorate was instituted on July 5, 1878,. Initially, the Baku Governorate included Karabakh, Zangezur, and the former Shaki Khanate. These areas were separated in 1868 to create the Elisabethpol Governorate.

The governorate was preserved until the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, when it was split into the Baku Governorate and the Lankaran General-Governorate.

Administrative division

After the establishment of the Elisabethpol Governorate in 1868, the Baku Governorate had six uyezds:

Demographics

According to the 1897 census, 789,659 people populated the governorate, of which, 55% were male. Azeris (then known as Caucasian Tatars, mostly Shiite) constituted the majority of the population with significant minorities of Russians, Armenians, Lezgins, Tats, Talysh, and Jews.[1]

Ethnic groups in 1897
Uyezd Azerbaijani Tatars
Tats Russians Armenians Lezgins Talysh people Other Dagestani Germans Persian Jews Avars
TOTAL 58,7% 10,8% 8,9% 6,3% 5,8% 4,2% 1,4% ... ... ... ...
Baku 34,7% 18,9% 24,0% 12,3% ... ... ... 1,8% 2,6% 1,1% ...
Geokchay 79,0% 3,4% 2,1% 11,0% 1,7% ... ... ... ... ... 1,5%
Javad 93,3% ... 4,5% ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Kuba 38,3% 25,3% 1,4% ... 24,4% ... 6,3% ... ... 2,2% ...
Lankaran 64,7% ... 7,2% 0,37% ... 26,7% ... ... ... ... ...
Shamakhi 73,7% 3,7% 9,3% 11,7% ... ... ... ... ... 0.9% ...

[2]

Ethnic groups at the start of the 20th century

The ethnic group composition of the governate changed considerably in the latter part of the 19th century. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were 214,700 inhabitants, amongst them, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians - 76,3 thousand -> (35.5%), Azerbaijanis ("Caucasian Tatars" back then) - 46 thousand -> (21.4%), Armenians - 42 thousand -> (19.4%), Persians\Iranians - 25 thousand -> (11.7%), Jews - 9,7 thousand -> (4.5%), Georgians - 4 thousand -> (1, 9%), Germans - 3.3 thousand -> (1.5%), the Kazan Tatars - 2.3 thousand -> (1.1%).[3] Muslims generally lived in the historical centre of Baku (Old Baku), surrounded by the khan's castle in the west of the city. Armenians mostly lived in the industrial zone in the north of the city. During the construction of the new city centre, various ethnic groups started to move to different districts.[4]

Known governors
  • Konstantin Tarkhanov-Mouravov, 1859–1863
  • Mikhail Kolyubakin, 1863–1872
  • Dmitry Staroselsky, 1872–1875
  • Valery Pozen, 1875–1882
  • Justin von Huebsch Grostal, 1882–1888
  • Vladimir Rogge, 1888–1899
  • Dmitry Odintsov, 1899–1904
  • Mikhail Nakashidze, 1904–1905
  • Andrei Fadeyev, 1905
  • Vladimir Alyshevsky, 1905–1915
  • Leo Potulov, 1916–1917[5]

References
  1. ЭСБЕ/Баку (in Russian). Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. Демоскоп Weekly - Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г. Распределение населения по родному языку и уездам. Российской Империи кроме губерний Европейской России
  3. Современный Азербайджан. // Новый Восток. 1926. № 4. С. 174
  4. Йорг Баберовски. (2004). Под ред. И. Герасимова (ed.). "Цивилизаторская миссия и национализм в Закавказье: 1828-1914 гг". Новая имперская история постсоветского пространства. Казань: New Imperial History: 322. ISBN 9785852470249.
  5. Baku Lands Archived 2011-04-26 at the Wayback Machine

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