Construction of the Kars city center and its monumental buildings during the Russian administration

Kars, which is a city in the east of Turkey, has been a center for many different cultures for many years of history. Kars is located in between Caucasian and Anatolian regions. Being as a frontier city, Kars has faced many war scenes as well as destruction and reconstruction activities. One of the most important war of the Kars history was 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War, which is known as the '93 war. After the Ottoman-Russian War in 1877-1878, Kars was captured by Russian Empire. After the war, according to 5th article of the San Stefano (Ayastefanos) Treaty (3 March 1878), Kars, Ardahan, Eleşkirt and Beyazıt would be a part of the Russian Empire. On the otherhand, according to Article 21 of this Treaty, Ottoman people were able to sell their properties and go the Ottoman land within three years. State and foundation properties will also be sold within three years with a commision generated by Russian and Ottoman officials. After the Berlin Congress, which was held on 13th June 1878, only Beyazıt and Eleşkirt were left to Ottoman Empire. This was the start of a new period for the Kars city. Kars was rulled by Russian Empire until 1918. Kars has become an oblast (Province), which was affiliated to the General Governorship of Transcaucation (center was in Tbilisi) and ruled by a Military Governer. Oblasts were provinces that were generally rulled by a military-civil regimen in the border regions. Thus, Kars was governed by this military-civil regimen too. Karsskaya Oblast was consisted of four okrugs (counties), which were Kars, Ardahan, Olti and Kaghisman. Okrugs were divided into fourteen uchastoks (sub-districts); uchastoks were divided into selskiy okrugs (villages). In this period there were so many changes from population to etnicity of region, as well as the physical enviroment of Kars. Significant number of Muslims were left the Kars city and Russian administration populate the city with Christians and religious sectarian Russians like Molokans and Dukhabors. Russian period of Kars population consisted of different ethnic groups like Armenians, Greeks, Turks, Persians, Kurds, Germans, Estonians, Osetians and others. Many of Russian sectarians were placed to country sides. But, Kars city center had majority of Armenian population. Russian administriation generated a land commision to speed up the construction activities, purchase lands, expropriate the land and populate the city with new arrival groups. For a long time, Land comission tried to figure out Ottoman land system to expropriate lands. Russians chose the center of the city not on the foot slope of organic configuration of Kars fortress but on the plane region near the Kars Stream. Russians built the city according to a gridal plan contrary to the Ottomans. There were four suburb, probably demaged during the war, where the new plan was implemented. This plan should have been arranged according to the temprorary development plan, dated 1881. It can be said that Russians divided the city into different functional areas. Administrative buildings were in the north part of the city and over the Gubernatorskaya and Politseyskaya Ulitsa (street). Most of merchants were Armenians and placed in the center part of the city in the Mihayilovskaya and Loris-Mihayilovskaya Ulitsas. Military barracks were in the south. Dwellings were mostly in the east part of the city. In the nort part of the River there were a city park. And also there were three square in the city center. Construction activities were carried out by the different units of the administration. Military constructions were carried out directly by Military Ministry. Kars city Police department was working as a municipality, collaborating with construction works office of Governorate. There was a Kars city construction comission, composed of director of Police Department, a city architect (gorodskoy arhitektor), the province engineer (oblastnoy injiner) and three prominent local people as members. Archive documents show that the Governor's building, city school and city park were built at the first place by private enterprises. Kars was connected with the other parts of Russia by railways and roads like other Tanscaucasian cities. The construction and maintenance of the roads and railways were under the administration of the Ministry of Transport. The Ministry of Transport was interested in the construction of bridges, watchman's huts, repairment of the buildings located on these roads. A steel bridge, a stone bridge and a station building were built in the Kars city center by Russians. Military units of the Kars oblast were working under the Kars-Fort Engineering Department, which was directly working under the Military Ministry. Tasks of the Kars Engineering Depatment were to set up units for the army, built the military buldings and supply needs of the army. The religion of the city turned to Christianity in the Russsian rule of the Kars. Most of the ecclesiastical buildings also were belong to Military Ministry, such as Military Cathedral, Alexandr Nevski Chapel in the north and Alexandr Nevski Church in the south. Some of the clinics and Military hospital also were built by Military Ministry. It was impartant to built schools for Russian administration. The schools in Kars were affiliated to Russian Ministry of Education. The construction of schools was funded by the state budgets and public donations. According to a report of Kars military governor Tomich, It was in the first place for Kars city center to become an administirative and commercial center. Kars city center became trade center of Kars while other districts of province were agricultural production centers. There were also some productive facilities in the city center like small brewery, paint, soap factories. In this military-sivil regime, there were three prominent local people, who are employed in administration of municipality department. Thus, state and local society both appeared in .public arena. Architectural heritage of Kars in the city center shows us also urban and architectural tendency of 19th century of Russia. Architectural pattern of the new city was very similar with the other Russian cities with their western and Russian style. According to Kars Culture Inventory in 2009, there are 113 officially documented buildings in Kars which were built in this period. This number of buildings shows us how major the architectural culture in this little city of that period and survived to this time. This study based on trying to understand and document how architecture and construction activities went on that period. It's focused on reconstruction actvities in the city center of Kars, called as Gorod Kars by Russians, and aimed to figure out the relations between architectural practise and russian administriation. This paper shares researches about construction activities, architecture and development of Kars city center mostly according to the Russian sources and documents of that period.