Ahiska Region in Tsarist Russia Period

The Caucasus, which has strategic importance, has served as a bridge between east and west, north and south, throughout history. In this context, Meskhetian geography, located in the southwestern Caucasus, has also been the cradle of many civilizations. With the Scythian, Cimmerian, Bulgarian, Caspian and Kipchak raids, the region has become Iskit has become a Turkish geography. The Kipchak Turks who were brought to the Meskhetian region an ancient Turkish geography by the Georgian King against the Seljuk raids established the Meskhetian Atabek State which lasted 310 years in around Meskhetian. Atabeks who remained loyal to Ilhanli, Akkoyunlu and Karakoyunlu in the region where it was founded, later came under Ottoman rule by Lala Mustafa Pasha in 1578 as a result of Ottoman minds. The Meskhetian Region came under Russian rule with the Edirne Treaty, which was signed as a result of the Ottoman-Russian War of 1828-1829, in line with the policies of Tsarist Russia to create a non-Turkish Meskhetian Turkish. Thus, the Meskhetian people were exposed to the Russian oppression that continued for 90 years. During the Russian rule, as a result of Russian assimilation policies and OttomanRussian Wars, thousands of Meskhetian Turks were forced to leave their ancestral lands and had to migrate. The historical and cultural heritage here has been destroyed by the Russians and Armenians and abandoned to independence, and thousands of manuscripts have been moved to Petersburg. The purpose of this immigration policy of Russia is to break the historical and cultural ties of Meskhetian and its environs with Anatolia, and also with the Central Asian and Azeri Turks of Anatolian Turks, and thus to achieve their historical ambitions. Laid the groundwork for its establishment. The Turks remaining here are also tried to continue their assets under the Russian and Georgian edition, and they succeeded to maintain their Turkishities in spite of the Russian and Georgian assimilies. After the Russian revolution, the people of Meskhetian and Ahilkelek, who used the right of self-determination of the peoples declared by the Soviets, declared to the Georgian administration that they wanted to join Turkey. In order to gain their independence in the region they are in, they have established temporary political formations such as the Meskhetian Government Muvakkata. They also tried to protect the region they were in against the Russians and the Armenians. With the Batum Agreement signed in June 1918 Meskhetian and Ahilkelek were ceded to Turkey but as a result of the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Meskhetian and Ahilkelek as a result of the Mondros Armistice Agreement Meskhetian remained in Georgia on December 5, 1918. The study consists of four main parts. In the first part, the meaning of the name Meskhetian has been discussed in terms of the geographical structure of Meskhetian In the second part, the political history of Meskhetian and the policies of Tsarist Russia on the region are discussed. In the third part of the work economic activities in Meskhetian and in the fourth part educational activities and historical structures in Meskhetian have been tried to be dealt with. Keywords: Kipchak Turks, Meskhetian, Edirne Treaty, Meskhetian Government, Temporary, Batumi Treaty.