ნიგალის ხეობა დედასამშობლოსთან დაბრუნების შემდეგ (1878-1921 წწ.)

Abstract

After the successful end of the Russo-Ottoman war of 1877-1878, along with other historical provinces, Nigali Gorge was returned to the united Georgian territory as part of Klarjeti. Administratively, it was incorporated into the Artvin Okrug. Later, the territory was divided into two parts. One part was included in Batumi Okrug, and the other remained within the Artvin Okrug.
The tax system, military obligations, etc. were unbearable for the local population. Each year, Ottoman agents attempted to provoke migration, which was facilitated by the actions of Russian officials.
In 1879, a large part of the population was evicted due to the entry of the Russian army into the Murghuli Gorge, part of the Nigali Gorge, and the dissatisfaction caused by their arbitrariness. The condition of the Muhajirs was quite difficult. Some migrants could not survive the journey and died on the way. Those who arrived to the destination had to live in difficult conditions. Some were dying of hunger and cold. To obtain food, they sent trusted individuals to their estates, where they gathered assistance in the form of money and supplies. Some of the exiles began to return.
The ruling circles did not care about the population’s resettlement. On the contrary, they often facilitated this process. The people who came from Ajara and Imereti often settled on the lands abandoned by the Muhajirs in the Murghuli Gorge, and were welcomed by the residents who remained on the spot.
According to our field materials, most of those who migrated from the villages of the Nigali gorge later settled in Bursa, Inegol, Adabazar, Izmit and other cities. Today, their descendants are scattered in different cities and villages of Turkey, who remember their ethnic origin well and talk passionately about their original place of residence.
After the war of 1877-1878, relative tranquility ensued, and the effects soon became evident. To some extent, city life was revived, agriculture and trade were promoted, and construction activities became widespread. Attention was paid to the detection and study of natural resources. The copper-rich deposit of the village of Dzansuli in the Murghuli Gorge, as well as the deposits of Khodi in the Kholdursu gorge above Artvin, and the deposits of the village of Kvartskhani, were especially distinguished. The foundation was laid for ore mining industry. Initially, there was no ore processing plant at the site. The mined ore was transported to the village of Erge via the Chorokhi River and overland, where a copper smelter operated from 1889-1890. In the following years, copper smelters were constructed closer to the ore mining sites in Khodi, Dzansuli and Kvartskhani.
The growth in population and trade caused by the development of mining, accelerated the formation of urban settlements such as Borchkha, Dzansuli, Murghuli. The city of Artvin was one of the main trade centers in the Nigali Gorge. Both local and foreign merchants regularly gathered there.
After returning to the motherland, cultural and educational life began to revive in Nigali Gorge. Promoting literacy in the Georgian language became a priority, with significant contributions from Akhmed Khalvashi and Iv. Jaiani. The latter spent several years in Borchkha and taught local children to read and write in Georgian. In this regard, the role of Z. Chichinadze is also important.
Under the leadership of Akhmed Khalvashi, the first Georgian primary school was established in 1884, where both Georgian and Russian were taught.
Akhmed’s son Harun Effend Khalvashi was also interested in the education of the youth from Maradidi. After his father’s death, he personally funded a Georgian language teacher, but the local residents, dissatisfied with the previous Russian teacher’s unfavorable conduct, refused to send their children to the school, except for the Khalvashi family.
Despite living in the Ottoman Empire, the Georgian spoken language was still viable. The population mainly preserved Georgian traditions, customs, and most importantly, the native Georgian language. The role of the local women was significant in this regard.
The life of the gorge was severely affected by the First World War. The gorge became an arena of war. Military operations were also conducted in the Nigali Gorge.
The political result was also severe. Under the Treaty of Kars, the upper part of the Nigali Gorge (Beghlevani, Chkhali, Murghuli, Klaskuri, Devskeli and other gorges) was ceded to Turkey along with Ardagan Okrug and other districts. The lower part of the gorge remained within the borders of Georgia with its villages: Kirnati, Kvemo Maradidi, Gvara – incorporated into the Kirnati community by administrative-territorial division, while the villages of Mirveti and Machakhlispiri ascribed to it, were assigned to the Acharistskali rural community.