Aspindza ( ka, ასპინძის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Aspindzis munitsipalit'et'i'') is a municipality in southern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 10,372 (2021). Its main town and administrative center is

Aspindza Aspindza ( ka, ასპინძა) is a ''daba'' ("small town") in southern Georgia's region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 2,793 (2014 census), mostly ethnic Georgians. It is located at around . History The word "Aspindza" deriv ...

and it has an area of .

Administrative divisions

Aspindza municipality is administratively divided into one borough (დაბა, daba), the municipal centre

and 18 communities (თემი, temi) with 55 villages (სოფელი, sopeli):

Politics

Aspindza Municipal Assembly (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

: ახალციხის საკრებულო, ''Aspindza Sakrebulo'') is a representative body in Aspindza Municipality, consisting of 30 members which are elected every four years. The last election was held in

October 2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. Rostom Magraqvelidze of Georgian Dream was elected mayor.

Population

By the start of 2021 the population was determined at 10,587 people, a slight increase compared to the 2014 census. The population of Aspindza town decreased slightly during the same period. The population density of the municipality is . The population consists for 86% of

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

. By far the largest ethnic minority are the

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

, who make up more than 13% of the population. Almost all of them live in the village of Damala, just outside the main town of Aspindza. Furthermore, some

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Ossetes The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label=Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the no ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

and

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

live in the municipality. The population consists for 74.8% of followers of the Georgian Orthodox Church and 11.6% is Muslim followed by followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church (almost 10%), Catholics (2.3%) and a small community of several dozen

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. In November 1944, the

Meskhetian Turks Meskhetian Turks, also referred to as Turkish Meskhetians, Ahiska Turks, and Turkish Ahiskans, ( ka, მესხეთის თურქები ''Meskhetis turk'ebi'') are an ethnic subgroup of Turks formerly inhabiting the Meskheti regio ...

, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group of predominantly Muslim faith living in this area, were deported to Soviet Central Asian republics as part of a Stalinist resettlement operation. At that time, the Meskhetians constituted two-thirds of the population of the rajon Aspindza (1939: 21,612 of the 32,644 inhabitants). Attempts to return them to independent Georgia have failed, with local resistance.

References

Municipalities of Samtskhe–Javakheti {{georgia-geo-stub

Administrative divisions

Politics

Population

See also

References