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Adjaria)
Ajaria (Georgian აჭარა Ačara), officially the Ajarian Autonomous Republic, (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.
History
Main article: History of Adjaria
Adjara has been part of Colchis and Iberia since ancient times. Colonized by Greeks in the 5th century BC, the region fell under Rome in the 2nd century BC. Part of Egrisi, Adjaria was incorporated into the unified Georgian Kingdom in the 9th century AD. The Ottomans annexed the area in 1614 and forcibly Islamized its people in the 18th-19th centuries. They had to cede Adjaria to the Russian Empire in 1878. After the temporary occupation by Turkish and British troops in 1918-1920, Adjaria was reunited with Georgia in 1920. Adzharian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created under the Soviet rule in 1921. After the USSR collapse in 1991, Adjarian Autonomous Republic was proclaimed as a part of independent Georgia. Aslan Abashidze, a local strongman, prevented the region from being involved in the Georgian Civil War in 1991-1993 and contributed to relative stability and economical development in Adjaria. However, he was criticized by Georgia’s central government for widespread human right violations in the autonomous republic and Abashizde’s apparently pro-Russian orientation. The tensions between Tbilisi and Batumi reached the climax after the Rose Revolution of 2003. The Adjaria Crisis threatened to develop into an armed confrontation in the spring of 2004. However, President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ultimatums and mass protests against Abashidze’s autocratic rule forced the Adjarian leader to resign in May 2004.
The Government of Georgia is sometimes criticized to have brought the status of autonomy down to a nominal by the special law adopted after Abashizde’s ouster.
In violation of the 1999 Istanbul OSCE summit’s promise to withdraw, Russia maintains a military base in Batumi – a source of great tension with Georgia and the international society continue to pressure Russia into withdrawing her military bases from Batumi and southwestern town of Akhalkalaki. Georgia threatens to declare the Russian bases outlaw.
Law and Government
The status of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic is defined by Georgia’s Law on Adjaria and the region’s constitution. The local legislative body, Supreme Council (parliament) of Adjaria consists of 30 members and is elected for 5 years. The head of the region's government – the Council of Ministers of Adjaria 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 of the Caucasus. It has borders with the region of Guria to the north, Samtskhe-Javakheti to the east and Turkey to the south.
Ajaria consists of 6 administrative divisions:
1. City of Batumi
2. Ditrict of Keda
3. Ditrict of Kobuleti
4. Ditrict of Khelvachauri
5. District of Shuakhevi
6. District of Khulo
Its narrow band of coastal lowland has a lush sub-tropical climate while high in the mountains there can be snow for six months of the year. Mt Mtirala area is the most humid area in the whole Caucasus region.
Former Flag
This flag was in use by Aslan Abashidze's regimen
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 Adjarian capital is a centre for shipbuilding and manufacturing.
The region is the main center of sea tourism of Georgia, as another Black Sea province of Abkhazia has been out of central authorities’ control since 1993.
Population
The population of Adjara is 376, 400. The Ajarians (Ajars) are ethnic Georgians who speak local dialect of the Georgian language. The writing language is Georgian. They became Christian in the 4th century and were forcibly Islamized under the Ottoman rule in 17th-19th centuries. However, remnants of Christian practice remain, even with Islamic factions. 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. Collapse of the Soviet Union and reestablishment of Georgia’s independence accelerated a voluntary reconversion to Christianity, especially among the young, although a significant number of Ajarians remain Sunni Muslims. Interestingly, now there is only one mosque in the regional capital city of Batumi, whereas there are 14 Christian churches.
Ethnic minorities include Armenians, Jews, Russians, Abkhaz.
Famous Adjarians
- Tbeli Abuserisdze (1190-1240), a Georgian writer and scientist
- Memed Abashidze (1873-1941), a prominent political leader of Muslim Georgians
See also
External Link
