Baku Governorate

Baku Governorate (Old Russian: Бакинская губернiя) was one of the guberniyas of the Russian Empire, with its centre in Baku. Area (1897): 34,4000 sq. verstas, population (1897): 789,659. The only foreign border of the governorate was Persia, in the south. Within the empire it bordered with Elisabethpol Governorate and Dagestan Oblast.

The governorate was established in 1846 as Shemakha Governorate, in place of several military precincts. After the devastating 1859 Shamakhi earthquake it was decided to transfter the capital of the Province from Shemakha to Baku. On July 12, 1859 the governorate's name was changed accordingly. The coat of arms of the governorate was instituted on July 5, 1878. Initially Baku Governorate included Karabakh and Zangezur, which were separated in 1868 to create Elisabethpol Governorate.

The governorate was preserved until the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, when it was split into Baku Governorate and Lankaran General-Governorate.

Administrative division

Baku Governorate had six uyezds (in 1868 Nukha and Shusha uyezds were attached to Elisabethpol Governorate):

• Baku
• Kuba (attached in 1860)
• Shemakha
• Geokchai
• Dzhevat
• Lenkoran

Demographics

As of 1897, 789,659 people populated the governorate, of them 55% were male. Azeris (mostly Shiite) constituted the majority of the population. Significant minorities consisted of Russians,......
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