Black Sea Governorate

Governorate of the Russian Empire

Governorate in Caucasus, Russian Empire

Black Sea Governorate

Черноморская губернія

Governorate

Coat of arms

Administrative map of the Black Sea Governorate

Country| Russian Empire
Viceroyalty| Caucasus
Established| 1849
Abolished| 1917
Capital| Novorossiysk
Area

• Total

| 6,675.68 km2 (2,577.49 sq mi)
Population

(1916)

• Total

| 178,306
• Density| 27/km2 (69/sq mi)
• Urban

| 46.39%
• Rural

| 53.61%

The Black Sea Governorate[a] was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, established in 1896 on the territory of the Black Sea Okrug [ru] of the Kuban Oblast. The administrative center of the governorate was the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. In 1905, the population of the governorate was approximately 70,000 and its area was 6,455 square versts (7,346 km2; 2,836 sq mi), making it the smallest Russian governorate by both measures.[1] The governorate ceased to exist when the Black Sea Soviet Republic was established on its territory in the spring of 1918—later the governorate was incorporated into the Kuban-Black Sea Oblast of the Russian SFSR in March 1920.

## Administrative divisions

[edit]

The districts (okrugs) of the Black Sea Governorate in 1917 were as follows:[2][3]

Name  | Administrative centre | Population  | Area

|
|
|

| 1897[4] | 1916[5] | 1897  | 1916
Novorossiysky okrug (Новороссійскій округъ)  | Novorossiysk | 16,869  | 51,651  | 34,908  | 75,021  | 999.13 square versts (1,137.07 km2; 439.03 sq mi)
Sochinsky okrug (Сочинскій округъ)  | Sochi | 1,392  | 13,254  | 13,519  | 62,920  | 3,304.84 square versts (3,761.11 km2; 1,452.17 sq mi)
Tuapsinsky okrug (Туапсинскій округъ)  | Tuapse | 1,352  | 17,817  | 9,051  | 40,365  | 1,561.86 square versts (1,777.49 km2; 686.29 sq mi)

## Demographics

[edit]

### Russian Empire Census

[edit]

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Black Sea Governorate had a population of 57,478 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 34,776 men and 22,702 women. The plurality of the population indicated Russian to be their mother tongue, with significant Ukrainian, Armenian, and Greek speaking minorities.[2]

Linguistic composition of the Black Sea Governorate in 1897[2] Native language  | Number  | %

|
|

Russian | 24,635 | 42.86
Ukrainian | 9,252 | 16.10
Armenian | 6,285 | 10.93
Greek | 5,969 | 10.38
Circassian | 1,939 | 3.37
Czech | 1,290 | 2.24
Jewish | 990 | 1.72
Georgian | 967 | 1.68
Romanian | 923 | 1.61
Estonian | 791 | 1.38
German | 748 | 1.30
Polish | 731 | 1.27
Belarusian | 659 | 1.15
Turkish | 650 | 1.13
Mingrelian | 304 | 0.53
Tatar[b] | 291 | 0.51
Persian | 210 | 0.37
Imeretian | 158 | 0.27
Other | 686 | 1.19
TOTAL  | 57,478  | 100.00
Religious composition of the Black Sea Governorate in 1897[8] Faith  | Male  | Female  | Both

|
|
|

Number  | %
Eastern Orthodox | 26,085 | 16,980 | 43,065 | 74.92
Armenian Apostolic | 3,506 | 2,635 | 6,141 | 10.68
Muslim | 2,072 | 1,031 | 3,103 | 5.40
Roman Catholic | 1,485 | 944 | 2,429 | 4.23
Lutheran | 835 | 580 | 1,415 | 2.46
Judaism | 567 | 461 | 1,028 | 1.79
Old Believer | 53 | 36 | 89 | 0.15
Armenian Catholic | 58 | 24 | 82 | 0.14
Reformed | 70 | 1 | 71 | 0.12
Karaite | 18 | 6 | 24 | 0.04
Anglican | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0.01
Mennonite | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00
Baptist | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00
Other Christian denomination | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.01
Other non-Christian denomination | 17 | 0 | 17 | 0.03
TOTAL  | 34,776  | 22,702  | 57,478  | 100.00
Linguistic composition of urban settlements in the Black Sea Governorate in 1897[9] Urban settlement  | Russian | Ukrainian | Greek | TOTAL

|
|
|
|

Number  | %  | Number  | %  | Number  | %
Novorossiysk | 10,860 | 64.27 | 2,177 | 12.88 | 931 | 5.51 | 16,897
Tuapse | 827 | 59.41 | 116 | 8.33 | 189 | 13.58 | 1,392
Sochi | 513 | 37.94 | 269 | 19.90 | 26 | 1.92 | 1,352
TOTAL  | 12,200  | 62.11  | 2,562  | 13.04  | 1,146  | 5.83  | 19,641

### Kavkazskiy kalendar

[edit]

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Black Sea Governorate had a population of 178,306 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 104,488 men and 73,818 women, 108,893 of whom were the permanent population, and 69,413 were temporary residents:[3]

Nationality  | Urban | Rural | TOTAL

|
|
|

Number  | %  | Number  | %  | Number  | %
Russians | 65,582  | 79.28  | 54,339  | 56.85  | 119,921  | 67.26
Other Europeans | 6,246  | 7.55  | 15,107  | 15.80  | 21,353  | 11.98
Armenians | 2,347  | 2.84  | 15,712  | 16.44  | 18,059  | 10.13
Georgians | 1,750  | 2.12  | 4,336  | 4.54  | 6,086  | 3.41
Asiatic Christians | 3,407  | 4.12  | 1,932  | 2.02  | 5,339  | 2.99
North Caucasians | 672  | 0.81  | 3,426  | 3.58  | 4,104  | 2.30
Jews | 1,784  | 2.16  | 9  | 0.01  | 1,793  | 1.01
Shia Muslims[c] | 922  | 1.11  | 649  | 0.68  | 1,571  | 0.88
Sunni Muslims[d] | 12  | 0.01  | 56  | 0.06  | 68  | 0.04
Roma | 0  | 0.00  | 12  | 0.01  | 12  | 0.01
TOTAL  | 82,722  | 100.00  | 95,584  | 100.00  | 178,306  | 100.00

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^

* Russian: Черномо́рская губе́рнія, romanized: Chernomórskaya gubérniya

2. ^ Before 1918, Azerbaijanis were generally known as "Tatars". This term, employed by the Russians, referred to Turkic-speaking Muslims of the South Caucasus. After 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".[6][7]
3. ^ Primarily Tatars.[10]
4. ^ Primarily Turco-Tatars.[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона. Черноморская губерния. Том 4. 1907. (Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, vol. 4\. 1907.)
2. ^ a b c "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
3. ^ a b Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 214–217.
4. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
5. ^ Кавказский календарь .... на 1917 год (in Russian).
6. ^ Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
7. ^ Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
8. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
9. ^ "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
10. ^ a b Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Bournoutian, George A. (2018). Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900–1914. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-06260-2. OCLC 1037283914.

* Hovannisian, Richard G. (1971). The Republic of Armenia: The First Year, 1918–1919. Vol. 1\. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520019843.
* Кавказский календарь на 1917 год [Caucasian calendar for 1917] (in Russian) (72nd ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1917. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021.
* Tsutsiev, Arthur (2014). Atlas of the Ethno-Political History of the Caucasus (PDF). Translated by Nora Seligman Favorov. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300153088. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 June 2023.

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* t
* e

Subdivisions of the Russian Empire

Governorates
(List)|

* Azov¹
* +Altai²
* Arkhangelsk
* Archangelgorod
* Astrakhan
* Belgorod
* Bessarabia
* Bratslav
* Belarus
* Caucasus
* Chernigov
* Grodno
* Finland
* Iziaslav
* Ingermanland
* Irkutsk
* Kazan
* Kaluga
* Kiev (1708)
* Kiev
* Kharkov
* Kherson
* Kholm
* Kovno
* Kolyvan
* Kostroma
* Kursk
* Lithuania
* Little Russia (1764)
* Little Russia (1796)
* Minsk
* Mogilev
* Moscow
* Nikolayev
* Nizhny Novgorod
* Novgorod-Seversky
* Novgorod
* Novorossiya
* Olonets
* Orenburg
* Oryol
* Penza
* Perm
* *Petrograd²
* Podolia
* Polotsk
* Poltava
* Pskov
* Ryazan
* Samara
* Saint Petersburg
* Saratov
* Siberia
* Simbirsk
* Sloboda Ukraine
* Slonim
* Smolensk
* Stavropol
* Taurida
* Tambov
* Tver
* Tobolsk
* Tomsk
* Tula
* Ufa
* Vilna
* Vitebsk
* Vladimir
* Voznesensk
* Vologda
* Volhynia
* Voronezh
* Vyatka
* Vyborg
* Yaroslavl
* Yekaterinoslav
* Yeniseysk

| Baltic Governorates³|

* Courland
* Livonia
* Reval
* Riga
* Estonia

|

Governorates of Finland|

* Åbo-Björneborg
* Vasa
* Vyborg
* Kuopio
* Nyland
* St. Michel
* Tavastehus
* Uleåborg

Governorates of Poland|

* Avgustov
* Warsaw
* Kalish
* Keltsy
* Krakov
* Lomzha
* Lyublin
* Mazovia
* Petrokov
* Plotsk
* Podlyashye
* Radom
* Sandomir
* Sedlets
* Suvalki

Governorates of
Galicia and Bukovina|

* Lvov
* Peremyshl
* Tarnopol
* Chernovtsy

Oblasts|

* Belostok
* Bessarabia
* Don Host
* Caspian
* Kwantung
* Orenburg Kirghiz
* Omsk
* Taurida
* Tarnopol
* Yakutsk

| The Steppes|

* Akmolinsk
* Siberian Kirghiz
* Semipalatinsk
* Turgay
* Ural

|

Turkestan|

* Transcaspian
* Samarkand
* Semirechye Oblast
* Syr-Darya Oblast
* Turkestan
* Fergana

Priamurye|

* Amur
* Transbaikal
* Kamchatka
* Primorskaya
* Sakhalin

Caucasus Viceroyalty|

* Baku (Governorate)
* Black Sea
* Derbent
* Elizavetpol
* Erivan
* Georgia-Imeretia
* Georgia
* Kutaisi
* Shemakha
* Tiflis
* Armenian
* Batum
* Dagestan
* Imeretia
* Kars
* Kuban
* Terek
* Sukhumi
* Zakatal
* Baku (Gradonachalstvo)

Dependencies|

* Bukey Horde
* Emirate of Bukhara
* Khanate of Kokand
* Russian America
* *Uryankhay Krai²
* Khanate of Khiva
* Zeravshan Okrug

¹ Italics indicates renamed or abolished governorates, oblasts, etc on 1 January 1914.
² An asterisk (+) indicates governorates formed or created with renaming after 1 January 1914.
³ Ostsee or Baltic general-governorship was abolished in 1876.

* v
* t
* e

Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)

Capital: Tiflis (Tbilisi)

Special administrative divisions|

* Baku gradonachalstvo
* Zakatal okrug
* Sukhumi okrug

Governorates|

| Baku Governorate|

* Baku uezd
* Geokchay uezd
* Javad uezd
* Kuba uezd
* Lenkoran uezd
* Shemakha uezd

|

Elizavetpol Governorate|

* Aresh uezd
* Jevanshir uezd
* Elizavetpol uezd
* Zangezur uezd
* Kazakh uezd
* Jebrail uezd
* Nukha uezd
* Shusha uezd

Kutaisi Governorate|

* Zugdidi uezd
* Kutaisi uezd
* Lechkhumi uezd
* Ozurgeti uezd
* Racha uezd
* Senaki uezd
* Shorapani uezd

Tiflis Governorate|

* Akhalkalaki uezd
* Akhaltsikhe uezd
* Borchaly uezd
* Gori uezd
* Dusheti uezd
* Signakh uezd
* Telavi uezd
* Tiflis uezd
* Tionety uezd

Black Sea Governorate|

* Novorossiysky okrug
* Sochinsky okrug
* Tuapsinsky okrug

Erivan Governorate|

* Alexandropol uezd
* Nakhichevan uezd
* Nor Bayazet uezd
* Surmalu uezd
* Sharur-Daralayaz uezd
* Erivan uezd
* Etchmiadzin uezd

Oblasts|

| Batum oblast|

* Artvin okrug
* Batumi okrug

|

Dagestan oblast|

* Avarskiy okrug
* Andiyskiy okrug
* Gunibskiy okrug
* Darginskiy okrug
* Kazikumukhskiy okrug
* Kaytago-Tabasaranskiy okrug
* Kyurinskiy okrug
* Samurskiy okrug
* Temir-Khan-Shurinskiy okrug

Kars oblast|

* Ardahan okrug
* Kagizman okrug
* Kars okrug
* Olti okrug

Kuban oblast|

* Batalpashinsky otdel
* Yeysky otdel
* Yekaterinodarsky otdel
* Kavkazsky otdel
* Labinsky otdel
* Maykopsky otdel
* Tamansky otdel

Terek oblast|

* Vedensky okrug
* Vladikavkazsky okrug
* Groznensky okrug
* Nazran okrug
* Nalchiksky okrug
* Kizlyarsky otdel
* Mozdoksky otdel
* Pyatigorsky otdel
* Sunzhensky otdel
* Khasavyurtovsky okrug

44°43′00″N 37°46′00″E﻿ / ﻿44.7167°N 37.7667°E﻿ / 44.7167; 37.7667
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