Dusheti () is a town in

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 ...

, the administrative center of

Dusheti Municipality Dusheti ( ka, დუშეთის მუნიციპალიტეტი) is a municipality of Georgia, in the region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Its main town is Dusheti. It has a population of 25,659 and an area of 2,981.5 km2. Settlements ...

, in the

Mtskheta-Mtianeti Mtskheta-Mtianeti ( ka, მცხეთა-მთიანეთი, literally "Mtskheta-Mountain Area") is a region (Mkhare) in eastern Georgia comprising the town of Mtskheta, which serves as a regional capital, together with its district and t ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, 54 km northeast of the nation's capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

History

Dusheti is on both banks of the small, mountainous Dushetis-Khevi River in the foothills of the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

range at an elevation of 900 m. It functions as the center of the Dusheti Municipality which, beyond the town itself, includes several villages of the historical community of

Pkhovi Pkhovi ( ka, ფხოვი), also known as Pkhoet'i (ფხოეთი), is a medieval term for the mountainous district in northeast Georgia comprising the latter-day provinces of Pshavi and Khevsureti along the upper reaches of the Aragvi, an ...

, (

Pshavi Pshavi ( ka, ფშავი) is a small historic region of northern Georgia, nowadays part of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti ''mkhare'' ("region"), and lying chiefly among the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains along the Pshavis Aragvi ...

, and

Khevsureti Khevsureti (Georgian: ხევსურეთი, ''a land of valleys'') is a historical-ethnographic region in eastern Georgia. They are the branch of Kartvelian (Georgian) people located along both the northern (Pirikita khevsureti, Georgian: ...

). As of the 2014 all-Georgia census, the town had a population of about 6,167. Dusheti first appears in Georgian written records in 1215. In the 17th century, it served as a residence of the local mountainous lords – the dukes of Aragvi – whose defiance to the Georgian crown more than once led to invasions and devastation of the town by the royal troops. After the abolition of the duchy of Aragvi in the 1740s, Dusheti passed to the crown but significantly declined. In 1801, the

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

took over and granted Dusheti a town status. Next year, it became the center of

Dusheti uezd The Dusheti uezd was a county (''uezd'') of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and then of Democratic Republic of Georgia, with its administrative center in Dushet (present-day Dusheti).Brockhaus and Efron En ...

. The town and its environs were a scene of disturbances during the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

, the peasants’ revolt in 1918, and an armed clash during the 1924

August Uprising The August Uprising ( ka, აგვისტოს აჯანყება, tr) was an unsuccessful insurrection against Soviet rule in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from late August to early September 1924. Aimed at restoring the in ...

against the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

rule. Dusheti was a center of agriculture and light industry during the Soviet era, but suffered an economic decline and population decrease in the years following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Nowadays, most people work in service industries (banking, education, auto-repair, and retail) as well as subsistence farming. The town is also known for its ''

khinkali Khinkali ( ka, ხინკალი ''khink’ali'' , sometimes Romanized ''hinkali'' or ''xinkali'') is a very popular dumpling in Georgian cuisine. It is made of twisted knobs of dough, stuffed with meat and spices. Ingredients The filling ...

'', a meat-filled dumpling very popular in Georgia.

Transport

Dusheti has access by a paved road to the highway connecting

and

Stepantsminda Stepantsminda ( ka, სტეფანწმინდა; formerly Kazbegi, ), is a townlet in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of north-eastern Georgia. Historically and ethnographically, the town is part of the Khevi province. It is the center of t ...

. There is a regular bus traffic between Dusheti and Tbilisi.

Culture and recreation

There are several historical and recreational places in and around Dusheti such as the

Ananuri Ananuri () is a castle complex on the Aragvi River in Dusheti Municipality Georgia, about from Tbilisi. History Ananuri was a castle and seat of the ''eristavis'' (Dukes) of Aragvi, a feudal dynasty which ruled the area from the 13th century. T ...

castle and the

Bazaleti Lake The Bazaleti Lake ( ka, ბაზალეთის ტბა) is a lake in eastern Georgia some 60 km northwest of the nation's capital Tbilisi and 5 km south of the town of Dusheti. The surface area of the lake is 1.22 km2. and i ...

. The town itself houses a number of architectural monuments including the 9th-10th-century church of

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

and the 18th-century palace of the Chilashvili family.

Climate

Notable people

Shota Khinchagashvili Shota Yuriyevich Khinchagashvili ( ka, შოთა ხინჩაგაშვილი; born 9 January 1951 in Dusheti) is a retired Georgian football player. Honours * Soviet Top League winner: 1978. * Soviet Cup winner: 1976, 1979. * UEFA Cup ...

- a retired Georgian football player.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Mtskheta-Mtianeti Tiflis Governorate