Caucasus Viceroyalty
The Viceroyalty of Caucasus (Russian: Наместничество Кавказа Namestnichestvo Kavkaza) is a major political and military subdivision of the Russian Empire, ranking as a Governorate-General. It includes a number of Governorates (Russian: Генерал-губернаторство) and it is headed by the Viceroy of Caucasus (Russian: Наместник Кавказа Namestnik Kavkaza). The capital of the Viceroyalty is Tbilisi.
The current Viceroy of Caucasus is Army General Prince Gosdan Aramyan.
History
The first time Russian authority was established over the peoples of the Caucasus was after the Russian annexation of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in 1801. General Karl von Knorring was the first person to be assigned to govern the Caucasus territory, being officially titled as the Commander-in-Chief in Georgia and Governor General of Tiflis (Tbilisi). Under of his successors, Russian Transcaucasia expanded to encompass territories acquired in a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Empire, and local North Caucasian peoples.
Headquartered at Tiflis, the viceroys acts as de facto ambassadors to neighboring countries, commanders in chief of the armed forces, and the supreme civil authority, mostly responsible only to the Tsar.
Geography
The Caucasus region is separated into two parts, which fall into two continents, the North Caucasus (Ciscaucasia) in Europe, and the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) in Asia, respectively. The Caucasus region is dominated by the Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north and by the Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south. This range has parts in northeastern Turkey and northern Iran.
The region is known for its linguistic diversity: aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian, and Northeast Caucasian language families are indigenous to the area.
The Viceroyalty area is of 291,243 km2 and is headquartered in Tbilisi.
Administration
The Viceroyalty of Caucasus is governed by the Viceroy of Caucasus, a senior military officer in active service, usually ranking Army General and being of noble birth. The Viceroy is tasked with overseeing the execution of the policies of the Russian Empire, commanding troops stationed within the Viceroyalty, ensuring defence and security to the Viceroyalty and ensuring the compliance of subordinate Governors as well as other civilian and military officials. The Viceroy is appointed and revoked at the Tsar's own pleasure.
The viceregal authority is assisted the Caucasus Committee, which consists of representatives of the State Council and the ministries of Finances, Justice and Interior, as well as of members of special committees. A Consultative Council supports the Viceroy.
A Chief Administrator (Russian: Главный администратор Glavnyy administrator), appointed by the Tsar and ranking State Councillor, 1st class, is subordinate to the Viceroy of Caucasus and oversees civil affairs following guidelines issued by the MVD.
Local government
The Viceroyalty is subdivided into 12 Governorates:
- Sukhumi;
- Batalpashinskaya;
- Nalchik;
- Vladikavkaz;
- Magas-Nazran;
- Grozny;
- Petrovsk;
- Tskhinvali;
- Tbilisi;
- Baku;
- Jerevan;
- Nakhchivan.
Each Governorate is led by an appointed Governor and supported by an elected Council. Tbilisi is a Governorate of 1st Class and it is administered by a Governor ranking State Councillor, 2nd class; Baku and Jerevan are Governorates of 2nd Class, and they are administered by Governors ranking State Councillor, 3rd class. The other nine Governatorates are Governatorates of 3rd Class, and they are administered by Governors ranking Councillor of Tsar's Civil Service, 1st class.