Ajaria
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| Image:Georgia Ajaria map.png | |||
| Image:Ajara map.png | |||
| Official language | Georgian | ||
| Capital | Batumi | ||
| ISO code | GE.AJ | ||
| Head of the Government | Levan Varshalomidze | ||
| Area - Total - % water | 2,900 km² n/a | ||
| Population - Total (1989) - Density | 392,432 135.32/km² | ||
| Ethnic groups (1989) | Georgians: 82.8% Russians: 7.7% Armenians: 4.0% Greeks: 1.9% | ||
| Currency | Georgian lari | ||
| Time zone | UTC +3 | ||
Ajaria (Georgian აჭარა Ačara), officially the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria, (also known as Ajara, Adjaria, Adjara, Adzharia and Adzhara) is an autonomous republic of Georgia, in the southwestern corner of the country, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea. Previously it was also known as Adzharistan and Adzharian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Adzharian ASSR).
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History
Main article: History of Ajaria Image:Old Batumi.jpg Ajaria has been part of Colchis and Caucasian Iberia since ancient times. Colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. It became part of the region of Egrisi before being incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD. The Ottomans annexed the area in 1614 and forcibly Islamicized its people in over the following 260 years. They were forced to cede Ajaria to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878.
After a temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918–1920, Ajaria was reunited with Georgia in 1920. After a brief military conflict in March 1921, Ankara government ceded the territory to Georgia due to Article VI of Treaty of Kars on grounds that autonomy is provided for the Muslim population. The Soviet Union established the Adzharian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921 in accord with this clause. Thus, Ajaria was still a component part of Georgia, but with considerable local autonomy. Its Muslim population was repressed by Stalin.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ajaria became part of a newly independent but politically divided Republic of Georgia. It avoided being dragged into the chaos and civil war that afflicted the rest of the country between 1991–1993 due largely to the authoritarian rule of its leader Aslan Abashidze. Although he successfully maintained order in Ajaria and made it one of the country's most prosperous regions, he was accused of involvement in organised crime – notably large-scale smuggling to fund his government and enrich himself personally – as well as human rights violations. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Ajaria; during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze, it seemed convenient to turn a blind eye to events in Ajaria. Image:Batumi Revolution, 2004.jpg This changed following the Rose Revolution of 2003 when Shevardnadze was deposed in favour of the reformist opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to crack down on separatism within Georgia. In the spring of 2004, a major crisis in Ajaria erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It threatened to develop into an armed confrontation. However, Saakashvili's ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidze's autocratic rule forced the Ajarian leader to resign in May 2004, following which he went into exile in Russia. After Abashidze's ouster, a new law was introduced to redefine the terms of Ajaria's autonomy – a measure which some have criticised as an effective elimination of most of the region's autonomous powers.
In violation of promises made at the 1999 Istanbul OSCE conference, Russia continued to maintain a military base in Batumi. This was a source of great tension with Georgia, which has threatened to block access to the facility. Following talks in March 2005, the Russian government proposed to begin the process of withdrawal later the same year. In late July, the Russian hardware began to leave the base in Batumi.
Law and government
The status of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic is defined by Georgia's law on Ajaria and the region's constitution, adopted following the ouster of Aslan Abashidze. The local legislative body, Supreme Council (parliament) of Ajaria consists of 30 members and is elected for 5 years. The head of the region's government – the Council of Ministers of Ajaria is nominated by the President of Georgia who also has powers to dissolve the assembly and government and to overrule local authorities on issues where the constitution of Georgia is contravened.
Levan Varshalomidze, a strongly pro-Saakashvili politician, is the current head of the Ajarian government.
Geography and climate
Ajaria is located on the south-eastern coast of the Black Sea and extends into the wooded foothills and mountains of the Lesser Caucasus. It has borders with the region of Guria to the north, Samtskhe-Javakheti to the east and Turkey to the south. Most of Ajaria's territory either consists of hills or mountains. The highest mountains rise more than 3,000 meters (9,840ft.) above sea level. Around 60% of Ajaria is covered by forests. Many parts of the Meskheti Range (the west-facing slopes) are covered by temperate rain forests.
Ajaria consists of 6 administrative divisions:
- City of Batumi
- District of Keda
- District of Kobuleti
- District of Khelvachauri
- District of Shuakhevi
- District of Khulo
Climate
Ajaria is well-known for its humid climate (especially along the coastal regions) and prolonged rainy weather, although there is prentiful sunshine during the Spring and Summer months. Ajaria receives the highest amounts of precipitation both in Georgia and in the Caucasus. It is also one of the wettest temperate regions in the northern hemisphere. No region along Ajaria's coast receives less than 2,200mm (86.6 inches) of precipitation per year. The west-facing (windward) slopes of the Meskheti Range receive upwards of 4,100mm (161.4 inches) of precipitation per year. The coastal lowlands receive most of the precipitation in the form of rain (due to the area's subtropical climate). September and October are usually the wettest months. Batumi's average monthly rainfall for the month of September is 410mm (16.14 inches). The interior parts of Ajaria are considerably drier than the coastal mountains and lowlands. Winter usually brings significant snowfall to the higher regions of Ajaria, where snowfall often reaches several meters. Average summer temperatures are between 22-24 degrees Celsius in the lowland areas and 17-21 degrees Celsius in the highlands. The highest areas of Ajaria have lower temperatures. Average winter temperatures are between 4-6 degrees Celsius along the coast while the interior areas and mountains average around -3-2 degrees Celsius. Some of the highest mountains of Ajaria have average winter temperatures of -8-(-7) degrees Celsius.
Economy
Ajaria has good land for growing tea, citrus fruits and tobacco. Mountainous and forested, the region has a subtropical climate, and there are many health resorts. Tobacco, tea, citrus fruits, and avocados are leading crops; livestock raising is also important. Industries include tea packing, tobacco processing, fruit and fish canning, oil refining, and shipbuilding.
The regional capital, Batumi is an important gateway for the shipment of goods heading into Georgia, Azerbaijan and landlocked Armenia. The port of Batumi is used for the shipment of oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its oil refinery handles Caspian oil from Azerbaijan which arrives by pipeline to Supsa port and is transported from there to Batumi by rail. The Ajarian capital is a centre for shipbuilding and manufacturing.
Ajaria is the main center of Georgia's coastal tourism industry, having displaced the northwestern province of Abkhazia since that region's de facto secession from Georgia in 1993.
Population
The population of Ajaria is 376,400. The Ajarians (Ajars) are ethnic Georgians who speak a local dialect of the Georgian language. The written language is Georgian.
They became Christian in the 4th century and were forcibly Islamicized under the Ottoman rule between the 17th and 19th centuries. However, remnants of Christian practice remain, albeit with an Islamic flavour. Crosses decorate maize-meal cakes. A cross with a grapevine wound around it provides ornamentation for mosques. Christian graves are carefully tended. Ruins of monasteries and churches are preserved for their enduring Christian symbolism.
The population of Ajaria had been generally known as “Muslim Georgians” until the 1926 Soviet census which listed them as “Ajarians” and counted 71,000 of them. Later, they were simply classified under a broader category of Georgians as no official Soviet census asked about religion.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the re-establishment of Georgian independence accelerated a voluntary reconversion to Christianity, especially among the young, although significant number of Ajarians remain Sunni Muslims. Interestingly, there now is only one mosque in the regional capital city of Batumi, whereas there are 14 Christian churches.
Ethnic minorities include Armenians, Jews, Russians and Abkhazians.
Famous Ajarians
- Memed Abashidze (1873-1941), a prominent political leader of Muslim Georgians
- Aslan Abashidze (b. 1938), an ousted regional leader
- Tbeli Abuserisdze (1190-1240), a Georgian writer and scientist
- Zurab Nogaideli (b. 1964 ), current Prime Minister of Georgia
- Levan Varshalomidze (b. 1973), current regional leader
See also
External links
- Government of Adjara official web site
- Tourist department official site
- Map of Ajaria
- Georgian territories: Ajaria
- Ajaria
- Images of Ajaria
- Islam and Islamic Practices in Georgia
- In pictures: Ajaria's 'velvet revolution'
- Timeline – 2004
- Ajaria Leadership Accused of Media Censorship, ‘Clan-Based’ Governance
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