‘’Muhajirs’’ in Adjara

Abstract

In 1877, another Russo-Turkish war began, which was extremely important for Georgia, because that became possible to return the historical southwestern lands of Georgia. It was with this motivation that many Georgians took up arms and signed up in the army of their own free will. In 1878, by the decision of the Congress of Berlin, Georgia returned its historical part, Adjara, which was occupied by the Ottoman Empire for three centuries. The Russian Empire did not care at all about the unification of Georgia. He was driven by his colonial goals, and this was evident in the later period. The Russian Empire viewed the local Muslim Georgians with suspicion and considered them agents of the Turks. Therefore, the ‘’tsarism’’ decided to get rid of them, which resulted in harassing the locals, imposing large taxes, etc. The Ottoman Empire also supported their migration. As a result of this policy, about 30,000 Muslim Georgians migrated from the Adjara region to the Ottoman Empire, and the ‘’tsarism’’ resettled reliable elements, Armenians, Greeks, Russians, various small ethnic groups, etc. This tragic event is known as ‘’Muhajirs’’.