Wikipedia

Georgian Military Road

42°30′15″N44°27′14″E/ 42.5042°N 44.4538°E/42.5042; 44.4538

Map of the area.

TheGeorgian Military RoadorGeorgian Military Highway[a]also known asGhalghaï Military Road,[2][b]is the historic name for a major route through theCaucasusfromGeorgiatoRussia.Alternative routes across the mountains include theOssetian Military Roadand theTranscaucasian Highway.

Traveling northbound along the Georgian Military Road.
The road is featured in several famous novels, notablyA Hero of Our TimeandTwelve Chairs.

Route

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The highest part of Georgian Military Road at the Jvari (Krestovy) Pass. The photo is taken in the month of May

The Georgian Military Road runs for 212 kilometres (132 mi) betweenTbilisi(Georgia) andVladikavkaz(Russia) and follows the traditional route used by invaders and traders throughout the ages. From Vladikavkaz, the road stretches southwards up the valley of theTerekbefore passing through theDarial Gorge(which marks the border between Russia and Georgia). It then passesMount KazbekandGergeti Trinity Churchbefore heading south-west through the Georgian region ofKhevito the Jvari Pass, where it reaches its maximum altitude of 2,379 metres (7,805 ft) (42°30′15″N44°27′14″E/ 42.5042°N 44.4538°E/42.5042; 44.4538). Not long after the pass the road passes theRussia–Georgia Friendship Monument,a large concrete monument built in 1983 to commemorate relations between the two countries and the bicentennial of theTreaty of Georgievsk.The road then turns south-eastwards, following the Tetri Aragvi River throughMtiuletidown to the town ofPasanauri,before heading due south. It then passes below the walls of the medieval fortress ofAnanuribefore cutting across the wide floodplain of the Tetri Aragvi down to a point just north of Georgia's historic capital,Mtskheta,where it merges into Georgia's main East-West highway (the E60). In this guise, the Georgian Military Road technically continues along the right bank of theKura (Mtkvari) Riverbefore reaching nearby Tbilisi.[3]

The 1914 edition ofBaedeker's Russiadescribes the Georgian Military Road as 'one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world', and mentions the fact that, as early as its date of publication, 'motor omnibuses of theSociété française des transports automobiles du Caucaseply regularly from April 15 to Oct. 15th, [accomplishing] the journey in 10 hrs.'[4]

History

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People have used this route since antiquity—bothStrabo(in hisGeographica) andPliny the Eldermention it.Russian troops first travelled itin 1769.Pavel Potemkinsent 800 troops to improve the road so that by October 1783 he was able to drive to Tiflis in a carriage drawn by eight horses. The Georgian Military Road in its present form was begun by theRussian militaryin 1799, after theGeorgianshad abjured centuries ofPersiansuzerainty and became a Russian protectorate under the 1783Treaty of Georgievsk.Russian control of the Georgian Military Highway in the center of the Caucasus divided theCaucasian War(1817–1864) into theRusso-Circassian War(1763–1864) in the west and theMurid Warin the east.

After theRussian Empireofficially annexed theKingdom of Georgiain 1801,TsarAlexander Iordered GeneralAleksey Petrovich Yermolov,the commander-in-chief of Russian forces in the Caucasus, to improve the road surface to facilitate troop movement and communications. When Yermolov announced the completion of work in 1817, the highway was heralded[by whom?]as the "RussianSimplon".However, work continued until 1863. By this stage, it had cost £4 million (equivalent to £483 million in 2023) but according toLord Bryce[5]in 1876 the work was of a high quality, with two or three lanes and "iron bridges over the torrents", something he considered astonishing given that within Russia proper at this time decent roads were virtually non-existent.

The Georgian Military Road played an important role in the economic development ofTranscaucasiaand in the Russo-Circassian War.

The Georgian Military Road today

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The importance of the Georgian Military Road as a through route has diminished in recent years, primarily due to delays at the border crossing betweenRussiaandGeorgia,natural disasters such as landslides,[6]and the outright closure of the border crossing by Russia in 2006.

However, since 2013, when Russia finally agreed to re-open its side of the border as a result of Armenian demands, the road has once again become an important transport artery, mainly for trailer trucks linkingArmeniaand Russia.[7]

Various restrictions, however, remained (and still remain) in place, particularly for Georgian citizens, but by 2013 a representative of the Russian side of the border could tell the Interfax news agency that around three million people had passed through theKazbegi-Verkhni Larscustoms checkpoint.[8]

The Georgian end of the Road has been subject to truck traffic jams, apparently due to the length of time needed for vehicles transiting Georgia to be admitted into Russia.[9][10] However, since the opening of a new Georgian customs, administration and parking facility at Kazbegi, the situation has improved.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^Georgian:საქართველოს სამხედრო გზა;Ingush:ГIалгIай никъ,romanized:Ghalghai niqh,[1]Гуржий никъ, romanized: Gurzhiy niqh;‹See Tfd›Russian:Военно-Грузинская дорога,romanized:Voyenno-Gruzinskaya doroga;Ossetian:Арвыкомы фæндаг,romanized:Arvykomy fændag
  2. ^Ingush:ГIалгIай никъ,romanized:Ghalghaï niq[1]

References

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  • Rosen, Roger.Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus.Odyssey Publications: Hong Kong, 1999.ISBN962-217-748-4
  1. ^abСулейманов 1978,p. 8.
  2. ^Яндаров А.Д. (1975). "Чах Ахриев. Жизнь и творчество (к 125-летию со дня рождения)".Вопросы философии. № 4(in Russian). pp. 138–141.
  3. ^The Times Atlas of the World,13th ed. (2011)
  4. ^"batsav | caucasian extracts from the 1914 baedeker guide to russia".batsav.RetrievedJune 6,2023.
  5. ^Lord James Bryce,TransCaucasia and Ararat(London 1877), page 116
  6. ^"Civil.Ge | One Dead, Several Missing in Dariali Landslide".old.civil.ge.RetrievedJune 6,2023.
  7. ^"Homepage".Jamestown.RetrievedJune 6,2023.
  8. ^staff, DFWatch (January 13, 2014)."Russia-Georgia border crossing will be open 24 hours".RetrievedJune 6,2023.
  9. ^""Kilometer-long traffic jams at Upper Lars checkpoint",Vestnik Kavkaza,28 June 2015 ".Archived fromthe originalon 14 April 2023.RetrievedJune 6,2023.
  10. ^"Armenia expeditor: Armenia should send emissary to Russia over traffic jam in Lars".news.am.June 6, 2023.RetrievedJune 6,2023.

Bibliography

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  • Article on the Georgian Military Highway inHidden EuropeMitchell, Laurence (2006) The High Road to the Caucasus: Exploring the Georgian Military Highway.Hidden Europe,9, pp. 2–7 (July 2006) - in English.
  • Article on the Georgian Military Highway inLa Carretera Militar Georgiana- in Spanish.
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