Dagestan Oblast Explained

Area Total Km2:29,709.63
Elevation Max M:4,466
Elevation Max Point:Mount Bazardüzü
Established Date:1860
Established Title:Established
Extinct Date:1921
Extinct Title:Abolished
Mapsize:220px
Dagestan Oblast
Native Name:Дагестанская область
Native Name Lang:ru
Population As Of:1916
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Rural:90.19%
Population Total:713,342
Population Urban:9.81%
Seat:Temir-Khan-Shura
(present-day Buynaksk)
Seat Type:Capital
Settlement Type:Oblast
Subdivision Name:Russian Empire
Subdivision Name1:Caucasus
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Viceroyalty
Total Type:Total

The Dagestan Oblast was a province (oblast) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of present-day southeastern Dagestan within the Russian Federation. The Dagestan oblast was created in 1860 out of the territories of the former Caucasian Imamate, bordering the Terek Oblast to the north, the Tiflis Governorate and Zakatal Okrug to the west, the Elizavetpol Governorate to the south, and Baku Governorate to the east. The administrative center of the oblast was Temir-Khan-Shura (present-day Buynaksk).

Administrative divisions

The districts (okrugs) of the Dagestan oblast in 1917 were as follows:

NameAdministrative centrePopulationArea
18971916
Avarskiy okrug Khunzakh37,63935,7491148.27verst2
Andiyskiy okrug Botlikh49,62857,8753152.17verst2
Gunibskiy okrug Gunib55,89976,1753422.33verst2
Darginskiy okrug Levashi80,94385,1311525.25verst2
Kazikumukhskiy okrug Kumukh45,36351,2501270.8verst2
Kaytago-Tabasaranskiy okrug Madzhalis91,02182,1542896.54verst2
Kyurinskiy okrug Kasumkent77,680117,2183066.85verst2
Samurskiy okrug Akhty35,63371,5563258.87verst2
Temir-Khan-Shurinskiy okrug Temir-Khan-Shura (Buynaksk)97,348136,2345464.01verst2

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Dagestan oblast had a population of 571,154 on, including 283,279 men and 287,875 women. The plurality of the population indicated Avar-Andean to be their mother tongue, with significant Dargin, Kyurin, Kazi-Kumukh, Kumyk, and Tatar speaking minorities.[1]

Linguistic composition of the Dagestan oblast in 1897
LanguageNative speakers%
Avar-Andean158,55027.76
Dargin121,37521.25
Kyurin94,59616.56
Kazi-Kumukh76,38113.37
Kumyk51,2098.97
Tatar32,1435.63
Russian13,1112.30
Jewish7,3611.29
Tat2,9980.52
Ukrainian2,8950.51
Nogai1,9090.33
Persian1,7200.30
Armenian1,6360.29
Polish1,6300.29
Arabic9120.16
Chechen7570.13
Lithuanian5200.09
Georgian3750.07
German2610.05
Belarusian380.01
Other7770.14
TOTAL571,154100.00
Faith! rowspan="2"
MaleFemaleBoth
Number%
Muslim263,475276,815540,29094.60
Eastern Orthodox10,9965,34116,3372.86
Judaism5,3674,68910,0561.76
Roman Catholic2,0791372,2160.39
Armenian Apostolic9556681,6230.28
Old Believer1841142980.05
Lutheran1851002850.05
Armenian Catholic245290.01
Baptist1120.00
Anglican0330.00
Buddhist3030.00
Reformed3030.00
Other non-Christian denomination7290.00
TOTAL283,279287,875571,154100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Dagestan oblast had a population of 713,342 on, including 369,737 men and 343,605 women, 659,976 of whom were the permanent population, and 53,366 were temporary residents:

NationalityUrbanRuralTOTAL
Number%Number%Number%
North Caucasians12,24717.50533,36782.90545,61476.49
Sunni Muslims1,1371.6290,84014.1291,97712.89
Russians27,04538.659,0781.4136,1235.06
Jews11,91317.035,3970.8417,3102.43
Shia Muslims11,26316.104,3520.6815,6152.19
Armenians4,6686.67840.014,7520.67
Other Europeans7361.052510.049870.14
Asiatic Christians7851.1200.007850.11
Georgians1790.2600.001790.03
TOTAL69,973100.00643,369100.00713,342100.00

Bibliography

42.8167°N 47.1167°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей. . www.demoscope.ru.