Resettlement Policy in the Borchaly Region in the 19th Century

Abstract

The article highlights the policy of resettlement adopted in the ancient Azerbaijan land of the Borchaly region, in the 19th century. The beginning of the first resettlement policy in the Borchaly region goes back to the reign of Shah Abbas I (1587-1629), the reasons for this, and the issues of the resettlement policy, regularly carried out in subsequent periods, are outlined. As can be seen, the resettlement policy in the Borchaly region became more noticeable after the Treaty of Turkmenchay concluded in 1828. Thus, after the Borchaly region became part of the Russian Empire, Germans, Greeks, Georgians, and Armenians moved here. The resettlement policy was carried out systematically and was aimed at expelling Azerbaijanis from their ancestral lands. Part of the resettlement policy was continued during the Russian-Ottoman war by forcibly expelling the Borchalians from their ancestral lands and settling them in Kars, Ardahan, and other regions of the Ottoman Empire. This process did not happen all at once but was repeated from time to time. The Russian Empire began to resettle Christian families to the lands from which the Borchalians were forcibly evicted.
Despite the purposeful resettlement policy pursued by the Russian Empire, Azerbaijanis were able to live in the Borchaly region, including in Eastern Georgia.