About Community

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF GEORGIA

The histories of Georgia and Armenia are closely intertwined, and relations between the two nations date back centuries. According to official census carried out in Georgia in 2014 more than 168 thousand Armenians currently live in Georgia, concentrated mainly in Tbilisi, regions of Samtskhe-Javakhketi and Kvemo Kartli and other places.

The mass migration of Armenians to Georgia began in the 11th century after the fall of the Armenian kingdom of Bagratuni and its capital Ani. In the 18th century, a sizable group of Armenian merchants started to settle in Tbilisi (that time called Tiflis) where they built churches and educational facilities.

By the nineteenth century, Armenians made up a sizable portion of the population of Tbilisi. At this time, an Armenian commercial bourgeoisie was formed (consisting of the famous Mantashev, Aramyants, and Gukasov families), who owned around 60% of the industrial enterprises and trading houses of Tbilisi. The city became the economic, cultural, and political center of South Caucasus, giving rise to some of the most prolific figures in Armenian history. Among them were the poet Sayat Nova who was born in the Tiflis, artists Stepanos Nersisyan, Gevorg Bashinjaghian, the Hovnatanyan family – Mkrtum, Hakob and Aghaton, painter Gayane Khachaturian, film director Rouben Mamoulian, world-famous composer Aram Khachaturian, and visionary artist and filmmaker Sergei Parajanov.

The Armenian Theater, on Havlabari’s main square, dates back to 1858. The original building was demolished, its reconstruction is now underway.

The city played a central role in the development of Armenian literature. Writers Ghazaros Aghayan, Gabriel Sundukian, and Nar-Dos were born there, while literally giants Raffi and Hovhannes Tumanyan spent the majority of their lives there. In 1899, Tumanyan established the Vernatun literary club with Avetik Isahakyan, Derenik Demirjian, Levon Shant, and others. The Tumanyan House opened in 2017, retraces its history.

Armenian-language press in Georgia has had a remarkably rich history. More than 260 Armenian periodicals were published here at different times. The Armenian newspaper Vrastan, founded in 1920, is the oldest newspaper in Georgia that is still in circulation.

The Nersesian Seminary, opened in 1824, is one of the largest Armenian educational establishments in the world. The writers Khachatur Abovyan, Perch Proshyan, as well as political figures like Soghomon Tehlirian and Anastas Mikoyan, all studied there. In 1911, the seminary moved to a new building on Arsenal Hill; it was built entirely out of tuff imported from Armenia. It closed down in 1924 and today the building is used by the Caucasus University.

Currently, there are about 130 Armenian schools and schools with mixed education in Georgia.

Georgia, and especially the city of Tbilisi were also central to Armenian political developments. In 1880 Mikhail Loris-Melikov was named Minister of the Interior of the Russian Empire. Just 10 years after the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) was founded in Tbilisi in 1890. Furthermore, representatives of the Armenian community have held senior positions in the country’s governing bodies, for example, Tbilisi has had more than 40 Armenian mayors.

Throughout the 7th to 19th centuries, Armenians built more than 600 churches in the territory of Georgia, and the Georgian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church was formed. Despite the rich religious history, many of the churches were destroyed during the Soviet Era. Nowadays, of the many Armenian Churches only the Saint George’s Church (the seat) and the Ejmiatsin Church (Ejmiatsnetsots St. Gevorg in Havlabar) are functioning in Tbilisi, the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church – in Akhaltsikhe, the Surb Khach (The Holy Cross) Church – in Akhalkalaki and the Saint Sarkis Church – in Ninotsminda and others. Of special significance is the Armenian Pantheon of Tbilisi (Khojivank), where great Armenian rulers, high-ranking clergymen, notable figures of literature and culture are buried. The Pantheon was once formed around Khojivank (built in 1780), which was demolished in the 1930s, and many of the tombs were destroyed.

Since the end of the nineteenth century, the vast majority of Javakhk’s (Javakheti in Georgian) population has been made up of Armenians, its Armenian population grew substantially after the Russian-Turkish War (1828-1829) with the arrival of refugees from Western Armenia, mainly from Karin (present day Erzurum). According to the official census of 2014, currently Armenians make up more than 50% of the population of Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, more than 81 thousand.

Akhalkalak is a small town in Samtskhe-Javakheti region with Armenian population of around 8000 people (more than 90%). The Church of the Holy Cross (Surb Khach) was inaugurated in 1856. In the church compound, the statue of Bagratuni Karapet appears to be watching over the town. Sometimes called Karapet Srpazan, this priest from Erzurum led thousands of Armenian refugees toward Javakhk during the Russo-Turkish war. A statue of Mesrop Mashtots was also erected in a square in the center of town.

The second largest town with Armenian population is Ninotsminda (about 5,000 Armenians). In the north of the town, St. Sarkis Church dates back to the nineteenth century. Even further north, a memorial pays tribute to Soviet Armenian soldiers who died during the Second World War. The Armenian Genocide memorial is located behind the Georgian-Armenian Friendship Park.

There are dozens of small villages in the region populated entirely by Armenians. Some villages are Armenian Catholic and have their own schools and small churches. The Church of the Holy Mother of God in Hesհtia is considered to be the spiritual center of their community.

An ethnographic Museum of Javakhk Armenians was opened in 2019 in the village of Satkhe, and the village of Gandza is home to the Vahan Teryan House-Museum. The Jivani Museum, dedicated to the Armenian poet, is located in the village of Kartsakhi, about five kilometers from the Turkish border.

Many Armenians live in the town of Akhaltsikhe (“Akhaltskha” in Armenian), largest town in Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The Armenian Catholic Cardinal Grigor Petros XV Agagianian, one of the forerunners for the papacy during the conclave of 1958, as well as Michael Aznavourian, the father of Charles Aznavour, are natives of Akhaltsikhe.

On the coast of the Black Sea, the beach resort of Batumi has been home to an Armenian community since the nineteenth century. The Church of the Holy Saviour (Surb Amenaprkitch) was built in 1887. In 2010, a khachkar was put into the church’s courtyard. About 5,000 Armenians live in Adjara.

Currently, there are also a number of Armenian community organizations operating in Georgia, such as the Armenian Community of Georgia, Union of Georgian Armenians, the Union of Armenians of Adjara, Hayartun Educational, Cultural and Youth Center, Union of Armenian writers Vernatun etc.

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