EXTRACT FROM THE SPECIAL
GAZETTE OF THE TRANS-CAUCASUS COMMITTEE
Sitting of
30 October 1917
Heard:
The population of the Old Gagra
and Alakhadze supports this petition.
Recalling the history of the establishment of Sukhumi Okrug within the current
boundaries we have to underline the following aspects.
The historical frontier of Abkhazia (within its
territory – including once seceded territories of Samurzakhano
and highland trenches of Bzib, Pskhu,
Kodori-Tsebelda and others) to the west passed along
the River Mzimta and the River Bzib,
to the North – the Caucasus major mountain ridge, to the South – the Black Sea
and to the East – the river Enguri. The Sukhumi
Military Division was established within these boundaries in 1865. In 1883 it was named as Okrug
and affiliated to Kutaisi Gubernia,
and in 1903 it was separated as an independent Okrug.
According to the Regulations of the Committee
of Ministers adopted in December 1904, the Gagra
Climate Station was separated from Gagra Okrug and it was attached to Sochi
Okrug administration of the Chernomorskiy
Gubernia. When
projecting the aforementioned new frontiers between Sukhumi
Okrug and the Chernomorskiy
Gubernia, Prince Golitsin
meant “only the interests of Gagra Station”.
But the Ministry of Agriculture and State
Property also had the goal to settle Russians in Gagra
district within the boundaries of the Chernomorskiy Gubernia on the basis of favourable
conditions then in force.
After such artificial alteration of borders the
Chernomorskiy Gubernia
received under its jurisdiction 150.000 dessiatina ( = approx. 2 3,4 acres) of forest and summer pastures.
In addition, with the consent of Gagra and Bzib districts all of
summer pastures were and still are at disposal of aborigines Abkhaz population
of Gudauta segment.
Also the pastures of these regions along the mountain ridge of the
Caucasus were fully transferred to the Chernomorskiy Gubernia, and the pastures of Chipshiri,
Akugrig and others, where the present border of Sukhumi Okrug is passing by is
divided into two segments: Northern and Southern, thereby the former is
attached to the Chernomorskiy Gubernia
and the latter is still within the Sukhumi Okrug.
The “Pskhu” edge was
also attached to the mentioned Okrug (Mount Bzib trench, the population of which totally immigrated to
Turkey in 1864), which has only one outlet to the city of
By explanation of Sukhumi
Okrug Commissariat, the local land-management
committees, taking into account the peculiarities and interests of local
population, shall elaborate the necessary documentation and the land-reform
plans, which will be submitted to the Constituent Assembly for deciding the
agrarian issue.
The Committees may successfully fulfill this
task only if they have comprehensive information regarding the land funds and
the number of farmers that need the land etc.
The Constituent Assembly shall decide the
matter of state forests and mountain pastures along with the agrarian issue.
The land-management committee shall have the
comprehensive information with regard of existed lands, forests and
pastures. To this end the Commissariat
considers necessary immediate restoration of the Okrug’s
frontiers thereby returning the native forests and pastures from the Chernomorskiy Gubernia to Sukhumi Okrug, which in 1904 was
attached to the latter through artificial changes of the original boundaries of
the Okrug.
As it is evident that the motivation of changes
of boundaries between the Sukhumi Okrug
and the Black Sea Gubernia in 1904 was the vision of
prince Alexander of Oldenburg – founder of the Gagra
Climate Station, which ultimately considered only the interests of this station
and didn’t take into account the interests of aborigines population of Sukhumi Okrug, then it will be quite
fair to restore the old frontiers of the mentioned Okrug. At the same time, proceeding from the
interests of the local population, it would be reasonable to implement it as
the interim measure under the decree of the Trans-Caucasus Special Committee,
simultaneously lodging the motion on changing the borders pursuant to the rules
established by law.
Decided: Respecting the given visions, the
Trans-Caucasus Special Committee finds necessary, as the interim measure, to
restore immediately the old boundaries of the Okrug
and lodging the relevant motion to the Provisional Government.
For Chairman A. Chkhenkeli
Members: M. I. Japarov
Acting Director of the Chancellery of the
Trans-Caucasus Special Committee - Kelarev
Corresponds to the original: for the clerk
(signed)
(Central State Historical Archive of Georgia,
f. 1818, desc. 2, file 135, p. 17-20)