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White Legion

2025-06-05T05:03:35Z

45.9.45.93: RV

:: ''For the mercenary group of the same name in the First Congo War (1996-1997), see [[White Legion (Zaire)]].''

The '''White Legion''' ({{lang-ka|თეთრი ლეგიონი}}, ''t'et'ri legioni'') was a [[guerrilla]] group consisting mostly of ethnic [[Georgians]] who remained in [[Abkhazia]] after the Georgian regular army's defeat in the [[War in Abkhazia (1992–93)|War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)]].<ref name=STRATFOR>{{cite web |url=http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=258429 |title=Georgia: The Threat of Attacks as a Diplomatic Tool |date=11 November 2005 |work=[[Stratfor]] |access-date=17 March 2019}}{{deadlink|date=March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=8225 |title=Other Group attacked Military target, 22 February 1997, Georgia |work=[[MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base]] |date=4 March 2001 |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050222155304/http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=8225 |archive-date=22 February 2005 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tkb.org/Incident.jsp?incID=8225 |title=Unknown Group attacked Utilities target, 15 January 1998, Georgia |work=[[MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base]] |access-date=17 March 2019}}</ref><ref name=JANES>{{cite web |url=http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir010906_1_n.shtml |title=Security deteriorates along the Abkhazia-Georgia ceasefire line |date=6 September 2001 |publisher=[[Jane's Information Group]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010909174412/http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir010906_1_n.shtml |archive-date=9 September 2001 |author-first=Dodge |author-last=Billingsley |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=Jane's Security |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The group, along with another guerrilla group called the [[Forest Brothers (Georgia)|Forest Brothers]], continued low-intensity guerrilla war against Abkhaz forces along the ceasefire line in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref name=STRATFOR />

The White Legion was led by Zurab Samushia.<ref name=JANES />

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Guerrilla organizations]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of Georgia (country)]]

Geno Adamia

2025-06-05T04:49:51Z

45.9.45.93: RV

{{Short description|Georgian military commander}}{{inline citations|date=April 2014}}
'''Geno Adamia''' ({{lang-ka|გენო ადამია}}; 8 March 1936 – 28 September 1993) was a [[Georgians|Georgian]] [[Military of Georgia|military]] commander who was killed during the war in [[Abkhazia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].

A native of [[Senaki]], he engaged, immediately after the [[Georgian-Abkhaz conflict|outbreak of the hostilities]] in 1992, in the struggle with the [[Abkhaz people|Abkhaz]] separatists who fought for the secession of Georgia's [[autonomous republic]] of Abkhazia, where the [[Georgians]] constituted 45.7% of the population. Adamia organized a large volunteer detachment of the citizens of Sukhumi and was actively involved in the defence of the city against the combined Abkhaz-[[North Caucasus|North Caucasian]] forces aided by the [[Russian military|Russian]] navy and aviation. He was soon promoted to [[Major General]] and appointed the commander of the 23rd Mechanized Brigade of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. One of the most energetic and popular Georgian commanders, he refused to surrender when Sukhumi fell on 27 September 1993. With a tiny force, he continued to fight in the vicinities of Sukhumi and trying to organize a counterattack on the seized Sukhumi, he was killed in the action at the Kelasuri Bridge on 28 September.

Adamia's friends ransomed his body which was buried in [[Tbilisi]], the capital of Georgia, in November 1993. The Georgian society, especially the [[Internally displaced person|IDPs]] from Abkhazia, marked the 70th anniversary of his birth on 8 March 2006. On 27 September 2020, he was awarded the [[Order of the National Hero of Georgia]].<ref>{{cite news |title=გიორგი გახარიამ აფხაზეთის ომში დაღუპული გენერალ-მაიორის, გენო ადამიას შვილებს საქართველოს უმაღლესი სახელმწიფო ჯილდო - ეროვნული გმირის ორდენი გადასცა |url=https://www.interpressnews.ge/ka/article/620414-giorgi-gaxariam-apxazetis-omshi-dagupuli-general-maioris-geno-adamias-shvilebs-sakartvelos-umaglesi-saxelmcipo-jildo-erovnuli-gmiris-ordeni-gadasca/ |accessdate=27 September 2020 |agency=InterPressNews |language=ka}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==

* {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.apsny.ge/news/1141942702.php ''ГРУЗИЯ ОТМЕТИЛА 70-ЛЕТНЮЮ ГОДОВЩИНУ СО ДНЯ РОЖДЕНИЯ ГЕНЕРАЛ-МАЙОРА ГЕНО АДАМИЯ'']{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{in lang|ru}} [http://abkhazeti.info/abkhazia/2011/1299539568.php 8 марта отмечается 75-летие генерала Гено Адамиа, Наша Абхазия]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamia, Geno}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti]]
[[Category:Mingrelians]]
[[Category:Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia]]

[[Category:Abkhaz–Georgian conflict]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia]]

{{Abkhazia-bio-stub}}
{{georgia-mil-bio-stub}}

Mamia Alasania

2025-06-05T04:47:50Z

45.9.45.93: RV

{{Short description|Georgian military commander}}{{Infobox person
| name = Mamia Alasania
| image = Mamia Alassania.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Mamia Alasania, მამია ალასანია
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1943|05|06}}
| birth_place = [[Samegrelo]], [[Georgian SSR]], [[USSR]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|9|27|1943|5|6|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Sukhumi, Abkhazia]]
| nationality = Georgian
| other_names =
| occupation = Colonel in the Georgian Army
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}

'''Mamia Alasania''' ({{lang-ka|მამია ალასანია}}) was a colonel of the Georgian Armed Forces, defending the Government of the Georgian Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia from Abkhaz separatists during the conflict in Abkhazia in 1990s. When the city of Sukhumi fell to the Abkhaz separatist forces, Mamia Alasania, along with [[Zhiuli Shartava]], [[Guram Gabiskiria]], [[Alexander Berulava]], [[Geno Adamia]] and others, refused to flee and was captured by the Abkhaz militants. He was killed during the [[Sukhumi Massacre]], on September 27, 1993.

== Life and career ==
Mamia Alasania was born in Georgia's region of [[Mingrelia]] on May 6, 1943. He graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Tbilisi and, later, from the upper school of State Security in Moscow. During his professional career, Mamia Alasania served in counterintelligence for nearly 30 years, including two tours in Afghanistan (1980-1981). After Georgia's independence in 1991, he was designated as the Deputy Chair of the country's State Security Agency. In 1992–1993, Mamia Alasania was invested by the Georgian State with a special mission and sent to the Samegrelo region of Georgia in order to resolve the existing civil confrontation.

== Legacy ==
After the assassination of his father, his son, [[Irakli Alasania]], joined a gruelling march out of Abkhazia, then-aged sixteen. From that point forward, Irakli Alasania identified his professional ambition as contributing to the defence and reintegration of a whole and free Georgia. In 2005, he was tasked with serving as the Georgian President's Special Envoy for the Georgian-Abkhaz Peace Talks, which he successfully re-initiated the same year. In this capacity, Irakli Alasania focused on building trust between the sides and efforts at reconciliation. From 2012, when Georgian Dream Coalition came to power after parliamentary elections, [[Irakli Alasania]] become the [[Ministry of Defense of Georgia|Minister of Defense of Georgia]].

In October 2017, Alasania's body was uncovered in Abkhazia and transferred to Tbilisi, where he was interred with military honors at the Church of St. Nicholas of [[Narikala]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Georgia Bids Farewell to Abkhazia Conflict Victims|url=http://civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=30528|accessdate=17 October 2017|work=Civil Georgia|date=17 October 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Victims of Sukhumi massacre}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alasania, Mamia}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti]]
[[Category:Mingrelians]]
[[Category:Abkhaz–Georgian conflict]]
[[Category:Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia]]
[[Category:Murder victims from Georgia (country)]]

Javakheti

2025-06-02T05:50:12Z

45.9.45.93: /* Middle Ages */

{{Short description|Historical region}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Javakheti
| settlement_type = Historical region
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| image_map = Part of Historical Javakheti in modern international borders of Georgia.svg
| map_caption = Map highlighting the historical region of Javakheti in Georgia
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| seat_type = Largest city
| seat = [[Akhalkalaki]]
| unit_pref = Metric


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| area_total_km2 = 2588
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| elevation_m = 3300
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| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census 2014">{{Georgian census 2014}}</ref>
| population_total = 69,561
| population_density_km2 = auto
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'''Javakheti''' ({{lang-ka|ჯავახეთი}} {{IPA|ka|d͡ʒäväχe̞t̪ʰi|}}) or '''Javakhk''' ({{langx|hy|Ջավախք}}, ''Javakhk'')''{{efn|[[Classical Armenian orthography|Classical spelling]]: Ջաւախք}}''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rezvani|first1=Babak|title=Conflict and Peace in Central Eurasia: Towards Explanations and Understandings|date=2014|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004276369|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=juziBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=javakheti+javakhk+armenian+georgian 1]|quote=...Javakheti (called Javakhk by Armenians).}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Georgian Court Sentences Armenian Activist To 10 Years In Prison|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Georgian_Court_Sentences_Armenian_Activist_To_10_Years_In_Prison/1604843.html|agency=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]|date=8 April 2009|quote=...Georgian region of Javakheti (Armenian Javakhk)...}}</ref> is a historical province in southern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], corresponding to the modern municipalities of [[Akhalkalaki]], [[Aspindza Municipality|Aspindza]] (partly), [[Ninotsminda]], and partly to the Turkey's [[Ardahan Province]]. Historically, Javakheti's borders were defined by the [[Kura (South Caucasus river)|Kura River]] (Mtkvari) to the west, and the Shavsheti, [[Samsari Range|Samsari]] and Nialiskuri mountains to the north, south and east, respectively. The principal economic activities in this region are [[subsistence agriculture]], particularly [[potato]]es and raising [[livestock]].

In 1995, the [[Akhalkalaki]] and [[Ninotsminda]] districts, comprising the historical territory of Javakheti, were merged with the neighboring land of [[Samtskhe]] to form a new administrative region, [[Samtskhe–Javakheti]]. As of January 2020, the total population of Samtskhe–Javakheti is 152,100 individuals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistical information about Samtskhe–Javakheti region |url=https://www.geostat.ge/regions/ |website=National Statistics Office of Georgia}}</ref> [[Armenians]] comprise the majority of Javakheti's population. According to the 2014 Georgian census, 93% (41,870) of the inhabitants in [[Akhalkalaki Municipality]] and 95% (23,262) in [[Ninotsminda Municipality]] were Armenians, with only tiny numbers of ethnic [[Georgians]] and [[Caucasus Greeks]] remaining.<ref name="Census 2014"/>

==Etymology==
The name ''Javakheti'' consists of the root ''javakh'' with the Georgian suffix ''-eti'', commonly found in the names of countries and regions. ''Javakheti'' means the land of the [[Javakhians|Javakhs]] (an ethnic subgroup of Georgians), as for example, the word ''Ossetia'' is taken from Georgian ''Osi'' plus ''-eti''.

The earliest mention of the name is believed to be from 785 BC, in the inscriptions of the [[Urartu|Urartian]] king [[Argishti I of Urartu|Argishti I]], as ''Zabakha''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Melkonyan|first=Ashot|title=Javakhk in the 19th century and the 1st quarter of the 20th century : a historical research|year=2007|publisher=National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Institute of History|location=Erevan|isbn=978-9994173075|page=36}}</ref>

== History ==

===Antiquity===

The ancient tribes of [[Meskhi]] (or Moschi) and Mosiniks are the first known inhabitants of the area.

In the sources, the region was recorded as ''Zabakha'' in 785 BC, by King [[Argishti I of Urartu|Argishti I]] of [[Urartu]] and, probably, meaning one of the ethnic groups of Urartu. According to [[Cyril Toumanoff]], Javakheti, together with [[Erusheti]], was part of the [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberian]] duchy of Tsunda from the 4th or 3rd century BC. Since 2nd century BC to 5th century AD this region was a part of an Armenian province - [[Gugark]], in [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Greater Armenia]].

[[Saint Nino]] entered [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]] from Javakheti, one of the southern provinces of Iberia, and, following the course of the River Kura, she arrived in [[Mtskheta]], the capital of the kingdom, once there, she eventually began to preach Christianity, which culminated by [[Christianization of Iberia]].

One of the earliest Armenian sources, [[Faustus of Byzantium]] (the 5th century) writes: “[[Maskut]] King [[Sanesan]], extremely angry, was filled with hate for his tribesman, Armenian [[Khosrov III the Small|King Khosrow]], and gathered all of his troops—Huns, Pokhs, [[Tabasaran people|Tavaspars]], Khechmataks, Izhmakhs, Gats, Gluars, Gugars, Shichbs, Chilbs, Balasich, and Egersvans, as well as an uncountable number of other diverse nomadic tribes, all the numerous troops he commanded. He crossed his border, the great River Kura, and invaded the Armenian country.”<ref>{{cite book |date=1953 |script-title=ru:ИСТОРИЯ АРМЕНИИ |trans-title=History of Armenia |language=ru|location=[[Yerevan]], [[Armenian SSR]] |publisher=[[Armenian National Academy of Sciences|Academy of Sciences of Armenian SSR]] }}</ref>

In the 5th century during the rule of [[Vakhtang I of Iberia]] Javakheti was a province of Iberia and after his death his second wife the Byzantine princess settled in Tsunda (part of Javakheti).{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

=== Middle Ages ===
{{More citations needed|section|date=June 2025}}
[[File:Rat'i Surameli, Duke of Javakheti and Kartli, wearing a sharbush and a front-opening qaba with tiraz, slightly before 1186, Vardzia, southern Georgia, Inv. No. 5246-262.jpg|thumb|[[Rat'i Surameli]], Duke of Javakheti and Kartli, wearing a ''[[sharbush]]'' and a front-opening ''[[qaba]]'' with ''[[tiraz]]'', slightly before 1186, [[Vardzia]], southern Georgia, Inv. No. 5246-262.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Flood |first1=Finbarr Barry |title=A Turk in the Dukhang? Comparative Perspectives on Elite Dress in Medieval Ladakh and the Caucasus |date=2017 |publisher=Austrian Academy of Science |page=252, Fig. 19 |url=https://www.academia.edu/35061254}}</ref>]]
In the struggle against the [[Arab rule in Georgia|Arab occupation]], [[Bagrationi dynasty|Bagrationi]] dynasty came to rule over [[Tao-Klarjeti (historical region)|Tao-Klarjeti]] and established the [[Principality of Iberia|Kouropalatate of Iberia]]. Rulers of Tao-Klarjeti fought the Arabs from this region, and gradually incorporated surrounding lands of [[Meskheti|Samtskhe]] and Javakheti, along with a few other lands, into its territory.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

10th century Armenian historian, [[Ukhtanes of Sebastia|Ukhtanes]], wrote about the family tree of Kyrion, the Catholicos of Iberia. The literal translation of this text is as follows: Kyrion “came from the Iberians in terms of country and lineage, from the region of the Javakhs.” There can be no doubt that Ukhtanes believed Javakheti to be part of Iberia, and the Javakhs to be Iberians {{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}. Z. Aleksidze examines the viewpoint of this historian and the enlightened Armenian society of the 10th century on the problem that interests us in depth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ca-c.org/c-g/2011/journal_eng/c-g-1-2/13.shtml#nazad43 |title=CA&CC; Press® AB |website=www.ca-c.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125154352/http://www.ca-c.org/c-g/2011/journal_eng/c-g-1-2/13.shtml |archive-date=2012-01-25}} </ref>

In the mid-10th century, part of Javakheti was incorporated into [[Kingdom of Abkhazia]]. In 964 [[Leon III of Abkhazia]] extended his influence to Javakheti, and during his reign the [[Kumurdo Cathedral]] was built.<ref name="Eparchy of Shemoqmedi">{{cite web|url=http://www.shemoqmedi.ge/Shemoqmedi%20site%20english/geo%20church%20monastery/Kumurdo.htm|title=Kumurdo Church|publisher=Georgian patriarchate, Eparchy of Shemoqmedi|access-date=5 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721030203/http://www.shemoqmedi.ge/Shemoqmedi%20site%20english/geo%20church%20monastery/Kumurdo.htm|archive-date=21 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.ge/~lika/ancient/kumurdo/kumurdo_show.htm|title=Kumurdo|publisher=Parliament of Georgia|access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> In subsequent centuries, Javakheti remained in the hands of the [[Kingdom of Georgia#Unification of the Georgian State|unified Georgian monarchy]] and had a period of significant development, during which numerous bridges, churches, monasteries, and royal residences (Lgivi, Ghrtila, Bozhano, [[Vardzia]], etc.) were built. In 1064 the [[Seljuk Turks]] conquered the area and ruled over the area until 1118 when the [[David IV of Georgia|David the Builder]] liberated the area from the Turks. It then became part of [[Zakarid Armenia|the Principality of Armenia]] ruled by the [[Zakarids–Mkhargrdzeli|Zakarian]] family, as a vassal state of the [[Kingdom of Georgia]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

In 1245, Javakheti came under the control of the [[Toreli]] feudal family. In 1268, Javakheti was annexed by the principality of [[Samtskhe-Saatabago]], ruled by the [[House of Jaqeli]]. In 1587, the region, along with the entirety of the Principality, was occupied by the [[Ottoman Empire]] becoming the [[Childir Eyalet]]. The area's population was devastated by the [[Turco-Mongol]] incursions. In 1484, [[Yaqub bin Uzun Hasan]] of the [[Aq Qoyunlu]] devastated the principality. Islam began to spread in the area among both Georgians and Armenians. As the Georgian Church began to lose influence in the area, many Chalcedonian [[Armenians]] began to join the [[Armenian Catholic Church]]. The Islamized locals began to mix with the Turkic settlers, forming the [[Meskhetian Turks|Meskhetian Turk]] identity, that became dominant to the west of Javakheti in [[Meskheti]]. In 1731 [[Nader Shah]] of [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid Iran]] launched an incursion into the Caucasus and during this time enslaved 6,000 Armenians from the [[Childir Eyalet]] according to Armenian Catholicos [[Abraham III of Armenia|Abraham Kretatsi]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

===Russian Empire===
In the first third of the 19th century, following the [[Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)]] and the [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)|Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828]], Russia conquered the [[Southern Caucasus]], and most of Georgia, along with the rest of the Caucasus, was incorporated within the [[Russian Empire]]. When the Russians conquered Javakheti it was home to 1,716 [[Armenians]] (67.7%), 639 [[Meskhetian Turks|Muslim]] (25.2%), and 179 [[Georgians|Georgian]] families (7.1%). Many of the Muslim families chose to resettle in the Ottoman Empire following the Russian annexation of the region. The Tsarist government initiated a plan to resettle its new frontier with [[Qajar Iran|Iran]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Turkey]] with Armenians who they deemed to be loyal. In total some 90,000 Armenians from the [[Ottoman Empire]] and 40,000 Armenians from [[Qajar Iran]] resettled in the Russian Caucasus, primarily the [[Armenian Oblast]].<ref name=Gammer2004 /> In 1829 some 7,300 Armenian families (58,000 people) resettled in [[Meskheti]], Javakheti, and [[Trialeti]].<ref>[[:ru:Исторические миграции армянского населения|Migration of Armenians]] (Russian).</ref> Armenians moving to [[Trialeti]] were joined by Turkish-speaking [[Caucasus Greeks]] known as [[Urums]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Turcology in Mainz |last1=Boeschoten |first1=Hendrik |last2=Rentzsch |first2=Julian |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-447-06113-1 |page=142 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtW6cox7CIUC&q=Turcology+in+Mainz |access-date=9 July 2011}}</ref> Armenians moving to Javakheti were joined by a number of [[Doukhobors]], a spiritual Christian sect from Russia. In the early 20th century, a large number of [[Armenians|Armenian]] refugees from the [[Armenian genocide]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]], and [[Doukhobor]] sect members of [[Russian Empire]], settled the region.

An 1886 report found 63,799 people living in Javakheti, of which 46,384 were Armenians (72.7%), 6,674 Russians (10.5%), 6,091 Turks (9.5%), and 3,741 Georgians (5.9%). The [[Russian Empire Census]] of 1897 found 72,709 people in Javakheti, of which 52,539 were Armenians (72.3%), 6,868 were Turks (9.4%), 6,448 were Georgians, and 5,155 were Russians (7.1%).

By 1916, the ethno-religious composition of the Javakheti region (Akhalkalaki Uyezd) was the following:<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |title=Кавказский календарь на 1917 год |publisher=Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom |year=1917 |edition=72nd |publication-place=Tiflis |pages=206–213 |language=Russian |trans-title=Caucasian calendar for 1917 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104233151/https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |archive-date=4 November 2021}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Nationality
!Urban
!Rural
! colspan="2" |TOTAL
|-
|[[Armenians]]
|6,151
|76,624
|82,775
|77.2%
|-
|[[Georgians]]
|265
|10,039
|10,304
|9.6%
|-
|[[Russians]]
|429
|7,113
|7,542
|7.0%
|-
|[[Shia Muslims]]
|0
|5,431
|5,431
|5.1%
|-
|[[Kurds]]
|0
|904
|904
|0.8%
|-
|[[Jews]]
|204
|0
|204
|0.2%
|-
!TOTAL
!7,055
!100,118
!'''107,173'''
!100.0%
|}

=== Brief independence ===
Following the [[Russian Revolution]], Javakheti was incorporated into the short-lived [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]], however, it was strongly disputed by the [[First Republic of Armenia|Democratic Republic of Armenia]] which claimed the region on grounds of history and ethnography. [[Richard G. Hovannisian|Hovannisian]], a notable historian on the topic of the interwar republic of Armenia describes the fate of the more than eighty-thousand [[Armenians in Georgia|Armenians]] of Javakheti after the region's occupation by the [[Ottoman army]]:<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/238471|title=The Republic of Armenia|date=1971–1996|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-01805-2|volume=2|location=Berkeley|pages=151–152|oclc=238471}}</ref><blockquote>Thirty thousand had perished as the result of the [[Caucasus campaign|Turkish occupation]], and those who survived were starving. Some mothers attempted to save their daughters by offering them as wives to Georgian militiamen and soldiers ... hundreds of women and children were pressed into servitude in the adjacent Muslim districts. All roads leading away from Akhalkalak were strewn with the bodies of fleeing Armenians. In September ... of the more than 80,000 Armenians in the county at the beginning of 1918, only 40,000 were left and that these were rapidly succumbing to famine, foreign marriages, concubinage, or to even worse fates. Although the Tiflis government regarded Akhalkalak as an integral part of the Republic of Georgia ... it did nothing to relieve the agony.</blockquote>[[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|Lord Curzon]] during the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] discussions on the fate of the independent Transcaucasian republics assessed the ethnographic situation in the southwestern ''uezds'' of the Tiflis Governorate:<ref>Britain, Cab 27/37, E.C. 2525.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hovannisian|first=Richard G.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/238471|title=The Republic of Armenia|date=1971–1996|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-01805-2|volume=1|location=Berkeley|pages=267|oclc=238471}}</ref><blockquote>Along the line marking the proposed northeastern boundary of Armenia, the counties of Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe fell on the Georgian side, even though, it was stated, they were populated primarily by the Armenian descendants of refugees from Turkey: “On the grounds of nationality, therefore, these districts ought to belong to Armenia, but they command the heart of Georgia strategically, and on the whole it would seem equitable to assign them to Georgia, and give their Armenian inhabitants the option of emigration into the [[Wilsonian Armenia|wide territories assigned to the Armenians towards the south-west]].”</blockquote>

===Soviet era===
Georgia came fully under [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] control in 1921, and Javakheti, along with other former Georgian territories, became part of the [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]]. The remaining Muslim minority in Javakheti, also known as "[[Meskhetian Turks]]", were deported to [[Uzbekistan]] in 1944 during the regime of [[Stalin]].<ref name="Gammer2004">{{cite book|author=Moshe Gammer|title=The Caspian Region, Volume 2: The Caucasus|date=25 June 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-77541-4|pages=24–}}</ref>

===Modern Georgia===
Currently [[Armenians]] form the ethnic majority in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id%3D235 |access-date=February 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708124400/http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id=235 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 }}</ref> Since independence many members of the [[Doukhobor]] community have left for Russia.<ref name=Gammer2004 />
Also, Ecological migrants from Adjara live there. <ref>{{cite news |last1=Lyle |first1=Justin |title=Resettlement of Ecological Migrants in Georgia |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/140733/Working_Paper_53_en.pdf |access-date=12 October 2023 |agency=European Center for minority issues |publisher=ECMI}}</ref>

==Current situation==
Between 2006 and 2011, 220km of the highway from Kvemo Kartli to Samtskhe-Javakheti was improved as part of a program of the [[United States|US]] [[Millennium Challenge Account]] to more effectively link the region with the rest of Georgia.<ref name="MCC2013">{{cite web |title=Rehabilitating the Samtskhe-Javakheti Road in Georgia |url=https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/evalbrief-011013-geo-sj-roads |website=Millennium Challenge Corporation |access-date=12 October 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In more recent years, a railway line has been constructed to run between [[Kars]], [[Turkey]] to [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan]] via the area (see: [[Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway]]), which opened in 2017. The Armenian population of Javakheti was opposed to this rail link because it excludes and isolates [[Armenia]]. There is already another railroad linking Georgia, Armenia and Turkey, which is the [[Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway]] line. The existing line is in working condition and could be operational within weeks, but due to the Turkish blockade of Armenia since 1993, the railroad is not operational.

==See also==
* [[Armenians in Georgia]]
** [[Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti]]
* [[List of Armenian ethnic enclaves]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
| author = Lalayan, Yervand
| script-title=hy:Ջաւախք
|trans-title=Javakhk'
| url = https://archive.org/details/Javakhk
| year = 1895
| publisher = Azgagrakan Handes [Ethnographic Review]
| language = hy
| author-link=Yervand Lalayan
}}

{{Commons category|Javakheti}}
{{coord|41.4000|N|43.5000|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{Georgian historical regions}}
{{Subregions of Tao-Klarjeti}}
{{Irredentism}}

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Javakheti| ]]
[[Category:Former provinces of Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Armenian irredentism]]