Gulripshi District
Gulripshi District (Georgian: გულრიფშის რაიონი, Abkhazian: Гәылрыҧшь араион) is a district of Abkhazia, one of Georgia’s breakaway republics. It corresponds to the eponymous Georgian district. Its capital is Gulripshi, the town by the same name. Until the August 2008 Battle of the Kodori Valley, the north-eastern part of Gulripshi district was part of Upper Abkhazia, the corner of Abkhazia controlled by Georgia until the Battle of the Kodori Valley during the August 2008 South Ossetia War. Upper Abkhazia was home to 1,956 of the district's 19,918 inhabitants, most of whom were ethnic Svans (a subgroup of the Georgian people).[2] Most of these fled before the battle and have not yet returned.
Gulripshi District
გულრიფშის რაიონი Гәылрыҧшь араион | |
---|---|
Dranda Cathedral is one of the oldest in Abkhazia | |
Location of Gulripshi district in Abkhazia | |
Coordinates: 43.1000°N 41.4170°E | |
Country | Georgia |
De Facto state | Abkhazia[1] |
Capital | Gulripshi |
Government | |
• Governor | Aslan Baratelia |
Area | |
• Total | 1,835 km2 (708 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 18,032 |
• Density | 9.8/km2 (25/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK) |
Of note is the Dranda Cathedral sitting over a shrine built by Justinian in 551. The medieval principality of Dal-Tsabal was centered in the district. Abkhazia's main airport, Sukhumi Dranda Airport, is also located in Gulripshi district.
Administration
Adgur Kharazia was reappointed as Administration Head on 10 May 2001 following the March 2001 local elections.[3]
On 18 December 2002, President Ardzinba released Kharazia as Administration Head and appointed him as Minister for Agriculture and Food.[4]
On 16 June 2003, President Ardzinba appointed Tamaz Gogia as Administration Head.[5] In the beginning of 2004, district officials stayed away from work in protest of what they perceived as rudeness from Gogia. In response, Gogia applied for resignation which President Ardzinba granted on 9 February, appointing First Deputy Head Aslan Baratelia as acting Head.[6][7]
On 24 March 2005, newly elected President Sergei Bagapsh replaced Administration Head Aslan Baratelia with Mikhail Logua.[8] In the 2011 Presidential election, Logua successfully ran for Vice President alongside Alexander Ankvab. He was succeeded on 14 December by Timur Eshba, who had previously been Deputy Head.[9]
Following the May 2014 Revolution and the election of Raul Khajimba as President, on 23 September 2014 he replaced Eshba with Aslan Baratelia.[10]
List of Administration Heads
# | Name | From | Until | President | Comments | ||
Adgur Kharazia | 1993 | [11] | 26 November 1994 | ||||
26 November 1994 | 18 December 2002 | [4] | Vladislav Ardzinba | ||||
Tamaz Gogia | 16 June 2003 | [5] | 9 February 2004 | [7] | |||
Aslan Baratelia | 9 February 2004 | [7] | 24 March 2005 | [8] | First time | ||
Mikhail Logua | 24 March 2005 | [8] | 29 May 2011 | Sergei Bagapsh | |||
29 May 2011 | 26 September 2011 | Alexander Ankvab | |||||
Timur Eshba | 14 December 2011 | [9] | 1 June 2014 | ||||
1 June 2014 | 23 October 2014 | [10] | Valeri Bganba | ||||
Aslan Baratelia | 23 October 2014 | [10] | Present | Raul Khajimba | Second time |
Demographics
At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the district was 18 032 people, consisting of:[2]
- Armenians (46.8%)
- Abkhazians (33.6%)
- Russians (11.4%)
- Georgians (4.6%)
- Ukrainians (0.9%)
- Greeks (0.7%)
Settlements
The district's main settlements are:
- Gulripshi
- Tsebelda
- Dranda
- Babushera
- Chkhalta (the main village of what used to be Upper Abkhazia)
See also
References
- Abkhazia is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Abkhazia and Georgia. The Republic of Abkhazia unilaterally declared independence on 23 July 1992, but Georgia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory and designates it as a territory occupied by Russia. Abkhazia has received formal recognition as an independent state from 7 out of 193 United Nations member states, 1 of which has subsequently withdrawn its recognition.
- 2003 (2002) Census results
- "Выпуск № 92". Apsnypress. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- Новые назначения в правительстве Абхазии. Caucasian Knot (in Russian). 18 December 2002. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- "Выпуск № 121". Apsnypress. 16 June 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- Kuchuberia, Anzhela (10 February 2004). "Президент Абхазии освободил Тамаза Гогия от обязанностей главы администрации Гулрипшского района". Caucasian Knot. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- "Выпуск №28". Apsnypress. 9 February 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- Bagapsh, Sergei (24 March 2005). "О главе Администрации Гулрыпшского района". Administration of the President of the Republic of Abkhazia. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- "Тимур Эшба назначен главой администрации Гульрипшского района". Apsnypress. 15 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- "У К А З О главе администрации Гулрыпшского района". Apsnypress. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- "Харазия Адгур Рафетович". People's Assembly - Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia. Retrieved 11 December 2012.