Akhalgori Municipality

Akhalgori Municipality ახალგორის მუნიციპალიტეტი
District
Flag
Location of Akhalgori Municipality
Country	Georgia (South Ossetia[fn 1])
Capital	Akhalgori
Government
• De facto head of administration	Alan Djussoev
• Votes in Parliament	(of 69)
Area
• Total	1,011 km^2 (390 sq mi)
Population (2002)
• Total	7,703
• Density	7.6/km^2 (20/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+3)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+4)

Akhalgori Municipality (Georgian: ახალგორის მუნიციპალიტეტი, Ossetian: Ленингоры район, Russian: Ленингорский район) is a Municipality in Georgia or South Ossetia respectively. Georgia considers Akhalgori part of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti. South Ossetian authorities refer to the district as Leningor District, whereas Tbilisi refers to it as Alkhagori District. According to Tskhinval, the current Head of Administration of Leningor is Alan Djussoev, and the current Deputy Head is Alexander Baratashvili.^[1]

The Akhalgori/Leningor Municipality had a population of 7,700, with approximately 2,000 living in the town itself. The largest villages are Ikorta, Korinta, Qanchaveti, Kvemo Zakhori, Largvisi, Doretkari, and Karchokhi. The population was primarily Georgian (6,520) and Ossetian (1,110) prior to the 2008 South Ossetia war. Since the war, over 5,000 ethnic Georgians – at least 70% of the total population and 90% of local ethnic Georgians – have fled the area, citing discrimination and a "climate of fear" under the Russian-South Ossetian control. Unlike in other Georgian enclaves, Ossetian militias have not systematically destroyed village structures, though there have been some reports of attacks against civilians and complaints of intimidation.^[2]

Sites

The district houses several pieces of medieval Georgian architecture, listed below:

• Ikorta church
• Ikoti nunnery and church (1172)
• The monasteries of Kabeni, Largvisi, and Khopa (9th-13th century)
• The basilicas of Lomisi, Armazi, and Bikari;
• The fortresses of Tsirkoli and Tskhmori.^[3]
• The old palace of the Eristov noble Family

Map of South Ossetia showing Akhalgori (Leningori) district in the south-east (green colour denotes zones of Georgian control prior to the 2008 conflict

Notes

1. South Ossetia's status is disputed. It considers itself to be an independent state, but this is recognised by only a few other countries. The Georgian government and most of the world's other states consider South Ossetia de jure a part of Georgia's territory.

References

1. http://cominf.org/en/node/1166480863
2. Georgia-Russia: Still Insecure and Dangerous, p. 7. International Crisis Group Europe Briefing N°53. 22 June 2009
3. http://www.international.icomos.org/risk/2001/geor2001.htm

External links