The Shorapani uezd was a county (uezd) of the Kutaisi Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It bordered the Racha uezd to the north, the Kutaisi uezd to the west, and the Tiflis Governorate to the east. The area of the uezd corresponded to most of the contemporary Imereti region of Georgia. The administrative center of the Shorapani uezd was Kvirila (present-day Zestaponi).
History The Shorapani uezd was formed in 1846 as part of the Kutaisi Governorate on the territory of the historical region of Imereti during the time of the Russian Empire. In 1918, the Kutaisi Governorate including the Shorapani uezd was incorporated into part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
Administrative divisions The subcounties (uchastoks) of the Shorapani uezd in 1913 were as follows: Name1912 populationBelogorskiy uchastok ()19,810Kvirilskiy uchastok ()16,695Sachkherskiy uchastok ()19,868Chiaturskiy uchastok ()18,896Chiaturskiy promysl uchastok ()76Chkharskiy uchastok ()19,147
Demographics
Russian Empire Census According to the Russian Empire Census, the Shorapani uezd had a population of 156,633 on , including 74,366 men and 56,826 women. The majority of the population indicated Georgian to be their mother tongue, with significant Imeretian and Mingrelian speaking minorities. +Linguistic composition of the Shorapani uezd in 1897LanguageNative speakers%Georgian106,87668.23Imeretian44,65828.51Mingrelian2,1291.36Jewish6780.43Ossetian6180.39Greek5530.35Armenian4700.30Russian4100.26Polish540.03Turkish350.02Tatar280.02German270.02Persian160.01Avar-Andean100.01Ukrainian70.00Abkhaz60.00Kazi-Kumukh40.00Belarusian30.00Lithuanian20.00Svan20.00Other470.03TOTAL156,633100.00
Kavkazskiy kalendar According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Shorapani uezd had a population of 189,428 on , including 100,322 men and 89,106 women, 179,353 of whom were the permanent population, and 10,075 were temporary residents: Ethnic groupShorapaniGeorgians186,30598.35Jews1,2350.65Armenians9000.48Russians5440.29Other Europeans2990.16Sunni Muslims570.03North Caucasians310.02Asiatic Christians290.02Shia Muslims280.01TOTAL189,428100.00
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