Poti
Encyclopedia
Poti is a port city in Georgia
, located on the eastern Black Sea
coast in the region
of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek
colony of Phasis
, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian navy
. The Poti port
area is planned to become a free economic zone
within the framework of a Georgian-United Arab Emirates
project inaugurated in April 2008.
, in a marshy delta created by the major river of western Georgia, the Rioni
, at its entrance into the Black Sea. The city lies at an altitude of two meters above sea level. A portion of Poti's environs recovered from the marshes now accommodate citrus plantation. The city is surrounded by the Kolkheti National Park
. It is flanked by the small river Kaparchina to the south-east and Lake Paliastomi
to the south-west. Some 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the south is the village Maltaqva, a local beach resort. The city's climate is humid subtropical with mild and warm winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 14.1 °C; 2 °C in January, and 22.9 °C in July. Rainfall is abundant and reaches 1,960 mm per annum.
's Theogony
(c. 700 BC) as a name of the river, not a town. Since Erich Diehl, 1938, first suggested a non-Hellenic origin of the name and asserted that Phasis might have been a derivative of a local hydronym
, several explanations have been proposed, linking the name to the Georgian-Zan *Poti, Svan
*Pasid, and even to a Semitic
word, meaning "a gold river."
and the early Middle Ages
, the area was occupied by the Greek
polis
of Phasis
which was established by the colonists from Miletus
led by one Themistagoras at the very end of the 7th, and probably at the beginning of the 6th century BC.
After many years of uncertainty and academic debate, the site of this settlement now seems to be established, thanks to underwater archaeology under tough conditions. Apparently the lake which the well-informed Ancient Greek author Strabo
reported as bounding one side of Phasis has now engulfed it, or part of it. Yet, a series of questions regarding the town’s exact location and identification of its ruins remains open due largely to the centuries-long geomorphologic processes of the area as the lower reaches of the Rioni are prone to changes of course across the wetland. Phasis appears to have been an important center of trade and culture in Colchis
throughout the Classical period. The section along the river Phasis was a vital component of the presumed trade route from India
to the Black Sea, attested by Strabo and Pliny
.
Between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC, the town played an active role in these contacts. During the Third Mithridatic War
, Phasis came under Roman
control. It was where the Roman commander-in-chief Pompey
, having crossed into Colchis from Iberia
, met the legate
Servilius, the admiral of his Euxine fleet in 65 BC. After the introduction of Christianity
, Phasis was a seat of a Greek diocese, one of whose bishops, Cyrus, became a Patriarch of Alexandria
between 630 and 641 AD. During the Lazic War
between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Iranian empires (542-562) Phasis was attacked, unsuccessfully, by Iranian soldiers.
In the 8th century, the name Poti entered Georgian written sources. It remained a place of maritime trade within the Kingdom of Georgia
and was known to medieval European travelers as Fasso. In the 14th century, the Genoese
established a trading factory, which proved to be short-lived.
In 1578, Poti was conquered by the Ottoman Empire
. The Turks, who knew the town as Faş, heavily fortified it and made it into one of their Caucasian outposts which was also home to a great slave market. A combined army of the western Georgian princes recovered Poti in 1640, but the town fell under the Ottoman sway again in 1723. Another futile attempt to dispossess the Ottomans of Poti was made by Russo-Georgian forces in 1770 and 1771. Once Russia took control of most of principal Georgian lands in the 1800s, it again attempted to evict the Turkish garrison from Poti and succeeded in doing so with the help of Georgian irregulars in 1809, but was coerced to return the fortress to the Ottomans in the Treaty of Bucharest (1812). The next Russo-Turkish War resulted in the capture of Poti by Russia in 1828. The town was subordinated to the Governorate of Kutais and granted the status of a port town in 1858. The seaport was reconstructed between 1863 and 1905. In 1872, the town became the terminus of the Caucasian railway, whence the line led direct to Tiflis (Tbilisi).
Poti particularly grew in size and importance during the mayorship of Niko Nikoladze
between 1894 and 1912. Considered to be the founding father of modern Poti, Nikoladze presided over a series of modernizing and construction projects, including a theatre, a large cathedral
, two gymnasia, a power station, an oil refinery, etc. By 1900, Poti had become one of the major ports on the Black Sea, exporting most of Georgia’s manganese and coal. During the First Russian Revolution
, Poti became a scene of workers’ strikes and barricade fighting in December 1905. During a brief period of independence in 1917-1921 Poti was Georgia’s principal window to Europe, also serving as the portal of entry for successive German and British expeditionary forces. On May 28, 1918, a German-Georgian preliminary treaty of alliance
was signed at Poti. On March 14, 1921, Poti was occupied by the invading Red Armies
of Soviet Russia which installed a Soviet government in Georgia. During the Soviet era, Poti retained its principal function of a seaport and the town was further industrialized and militarized.
During the 2008 war with Russia Russian aircraft attacked the port. Although a ceasefire was declared on August 12, on the following day Al Jazeera reported "more and more Russian troops coming into the area" plus the destruction of several Georgian vessels.
On August 23, 2008, the Russians pulled out of most of Georgia following a peace deal to end the South Ossetia war. Russia has continued to keep a military presence in Poti, which they argue is within the remit of the peace agreement; many western nations on the other hand have stated that this contradicts the terms.
(7.7 million tons per annum) is operational. The railway to Tbilisi makes this a more useful port than the natural harbor at Batumi
.
In April 2008, Georgia sold a 51% stake of the Poti port to the Investment Authority of the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) emirate to develop a free industrial zone (FIZ) in a 49-year management concession, and to manage a new port terminal. The creation of a new FEZ was officially inaugurated by the President of Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili
on April 15, 2008.
As of November 2009 there are plans for a Kerch
-Poti ferry route.
The Poti naval base was organized by the Soviet government in July 1941, a month after the German
invasion
during World War II
. Commanded by Major-General Mikhail Kumanin, the base operated as a part of the Black Sea Fleet
and included 2 submarine
divisions, a torpedo boat
division, coastal guard boat division, 2 minesweepers
, 4 coastal and 6 missile batteries, etc. After the German capture of Sevastopol and Novorossiysk
in 1942, several destroyer
s were transferred to be based at Poti which, together with another Georgian port city of Batumi
functioned as a secondary harbor in the Black Sea Campaigns (1941-44)
. By the early 1990s, the Poti base had accommodated several smaller units of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, but became essentially defunct after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
. In December 1992, Russia withdrew all its vessels and ammunition from the Poti naval base, but an ethnic Georgian commander of one landing ship refused to obey Moscow’s order and displayed a Georgian flag. At almost the same time, the Georgian government created a Joint Naval Brigade, consisting of several boats, a battalion of marines, an artillery division and a communication detachment. Since then, the Brigade has been enlarged and reequipped with the help of the NATO-member states.
On October 9, 1993, a war-torn
Georgia had to legalize the Russian military presence in the country, and lease, among other military facilities, the Poti base to the Russian navy. However, Georgia continued, though fruitlessly, to claim the vessels formerly stationed at Poti as a part of a tripartite Russo-Ukrainian-Georgian dispute over the Soviet Black Sea Fleet shares. By September 1998, the Russian military personnel had been withdrawn from Poti to the Russian base at Batumi under a Russo-Georgian agreement signed earlier that year.
Currently, Poti is a military facility
assignment to several of Georgia’s units. These are the headquarters
and main base
of the Georgian navy
, a primary naval logistic support base, a station of a naval squadron, and barracks
for a separate light infantry
battalion
of the Georgian Ground Forces.
, USA Burgas
, Bulgaria
Larnaca
, Cyprus
Aktau
, Kazakhstan
(2005) Nafplio, Greece
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, located on the eastern Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast in the region
Mkhare
Mkhare is a subdivision in the country of Georgia. It is usually translated as region.The country is divided, according to the Presidential decrees from 1994 to 1996, into regions on a provisional basis until the secessionist conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are resolved...
of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti is a region in western Georgia which includes the historical Georgian provinces of Samegrelo and Zemo Svaneti and has Zugdidi as its capital.-Geography:...
in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
colony of Phasis
Phasis (town)
Phasis was an ancient and early medieval city on the eastern Black Sea coast, founded in the 7th/6th century BC as a colony of the Milesian Greeks at the mouth of the eponymous river in Colchis, near the modern-day port city of Poti, Georgia.-Etymology:...
, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also home to a main naval base and the headquarters of the Georgian navy
Georgian Navy
The Georgian Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire coastline of Georgia, as well as the Georgian territorial waters...
. The Poti port
Poti Sea Port
The Poti Sea Port is a major seaport and harbor off the eastern Black Sea coast at the mouth of the Rioni River in Poti, Georgia. Its UN/LOCODE is GEPTI and is located at...
area is planned to become a free economic zone
Free economic zone
Many countries have, or have had at some time, designated areas where companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage development or for some other reason...
within the framework of a Georgian-United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
project inaugurated in April 2008.
Geography and climate
Poti is situated 312 kilometres (194 mi) west of Georgia’s capital, TbilisiTbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, in a marshy delta created by the major river of western Georgia, the Rioni
Rioni River
The Rioni or Rion River is the main river of western Georgia. It originates in the Caucasus Mountains, in the region of Racha and flows west to the Black Sea, entering it north of the city of Poti...
, at its entrance into the Black Sea. The city lies at an altitude of two meters above sea level. A portion of Poti's environs recovered from the marshes now accommodate citrus plantation. The city is surrounded by the Kolkheti National Park
Kolkheti National Park
Kolkheti National Park is a national park located in the historical region of Colchis in western Georgia. It lies on a coastal plain on the Black Sea, between the mouths of the Tikori and Supsa and spanning the districts of Zugdidi, Khobi, Lanchkhuti, Senaki and Abasha...
. It is flanked by the small river Kaparchina to the south-east and Lake Paliastomi
Lake Paliastomi
Lake Paliastomi is a small lake near the city of Poti, Georgia, connected to the Black Sea by a narrow channel. Its surface area is 17.3 km² and the mean depth is 2.6 m. Some ancient pieces of Colchis have been found near and in the lake by archaeologists. It is also an important fishery site.The...
to the south-west. Some 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the south is the village Maltaqva, a local beach resort. The city's climate is humid subtropical with mild and warm winters and hot summers. The average annual temperature is 14.1 °C; 2 °C in January, and 22.9 °C in July. Rainfall is abundant and reaches 1,960 mm per annum.
Etymology
The name Poti is apparently linked to Phasis, but the etymology is a matter of a scholarly dispute. "Phasis" is first recorded in HesiodHesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
's Theogony
Theogony
The Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies of the gods of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC...
(c. 700 BC) as a name of the river, not a town. Since Erich Diehl, 1938, first suggested a non-Hellenic origin of the name and asserted that Phasis might have been a derivative of a local hydronym
Hydronym
A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...
, several explanations have been proposed, linking the name to the Georgian-Zan *Poti, Svan
Svan language
The Svan language is a Kartvelian language spoken in the Western Georgian region of Svaneti primarily by the Georgians of Svan origin...
*Pasid, and even to a Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
word, meaning "a gold river."
Ancient and medieval history
The recorded history of Poti and its environs spans over 26 centuries. In Classical antiquityClassical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
and the early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, the area was occupied by the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
polis
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
of Phasis
Phasis (town)
Phasis was an ancient and early medieval city on the eastern Black Sea coast, founded in the 7th/6th century BC as a colony of the Milesian Greeks at the mouth of the eponymous river in Colchis, near the modern-day port city of Poti, Georgia.-Etymology:...
which was established by the colonists from Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
led by one Themistagoras at the very end of the 7th, and probably at the beginning of the 6th century BC.
After many years of uncertainty and academic debate, the site of this settlement now seems to be established, thanks to underwater archaeology under tough conditions. Apparently the lake which the well-informed Ancient Greek author Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
reported as bounding one side of Phasis has now engulfed it, or part of it. Yet, a series of questions regarding the town’s exact location and identification of its ruins remains open due largely to the centuries-long geomorphologic processes of the area as the lower reaches of the Rioni are prone to changes of course across the wetland. Phasis appears to have been an important center of trade and culture in Colchis
Colchis
In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis was an ancient Georgian state kingdom and region in Western Georgia, which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation.The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian...
throughout the Classical period. The section along the river Phasis was a vital component of the presumed trade route from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to the Black Sea, attested by Strabo and Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
.
Between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC, the town played an active role in these contacts. During the Third Mithridatic War
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and his allies and the Roman Republic...
, Phasis came under Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
control. It was where the Roman commander-in-chief Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, having crossed into Colchis from Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
, met the legate
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
Servilius, the admiral of his Euxine fleet in 65 BC. After the introduction of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Phasis was a seat of a Greek diocese, one of whose bishops, Cyrus, became a Patriarch of Alexandria
Patriarch of Alexandria
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...
between 630 and 641 AD. During the Lazic War
Lazic War
The Lazic War or Colchic War, also known as the Great War of Egrisi in Georgian historiography, was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Persia for control of the region of Lazica, in what is now western Georgia...
between the Eastern Roman and Sassanid Iranian empires (542-562) Phasis was attacked, unsuccessfully, by Iranian soldiers.
In the 8th century, the name Poti entered Georgian written sources. It remained a place of maritime trade within the Kingdom of Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
and was known to medieval European travelers as Fasso. In the 14th century, the Genoese
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
established a trading factory, which proved to be short-lived.
Modern history
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The Turks, who knew the town as Faş, heavily fortified it and made it into one of their Caucasian outposts which was also home to a great slave market. A combined army of the western Georgian princes recovered Poti in 1640, but the town fell under the Ottoman sway again in 1723. Another futile attempt to dispossess the Ottomans of Poti was made by Russo-Georgian forces in 1770 and 1771. Once Russia took control of most of principal Georgian lands in the 1800s, it again attempted to evict the Turkish garrison from Poti and succeeded in doing so with the help of Georgian irregulars in 1809, but was coerced to return the fortress to the Ottomans in the Treaty of Bucharest (1812). The next Russo-Turkish War resulted in the capture of Poti by Russia in 1828. The town was subordinated to the Governorate of Kutais and granted the status of a port town in 1858. The seaport was reconstructed between 1863 and 1905. In 1872, the town became the terminus of the Caucasian railway, whence the line led direct to Tiflis (Tbilisi).
Poti particularly grew in size and importance during the mayorship of Niko Nikoladze
Niko Nikoladze
Niko Nikoladze was a notable Georgian publicist, pro-Western enlightener, and public figure primarily known for his contributions to the development of Georgian liberal journalism and his involvement in various economic and social projects of that time.He was born in the village of Didi...
between 1894 and 1912. Considered to be the founding father of modern Poti, Nikoladze presided over a series of modernizing and construction projects, including a theatre, a large cathedral
Poti Cathedral
Poti Cathedral , or Poti Soboro Cathedral, is a Georgian Orthodox church in downtown Poti, Georgia.The cathedral is an imitation of Hagia Sofia in Constantinople, and it was built in 1906-07 with the great contribution of Niko Nikoladze, the mayor of Poti...
, two gymnasia, a power station, an oil refinery, etc. By 1900, Poti had become one of the major ports on the Black Sea, exporting most of Georgia’s manganese and coal. During the First Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, Poti became a scene of workers’ strikes and barricade fighting in December 1905. During a brief period of independence in 1917-1921 Poti was Georgia’s principal window to Europe, also serving as the portal of entry for successive German and British expeditionary forces. On May 28, 1918, a German-Georgian preliminary treaty of alliance
Treaty of Poti
The Treaty of Poti was a provisional agreement between the German Empire and the Democratic Republic of Georgia in which the latter accepted German protection and recognition...
was signed at Poti. On March 14, 1921, Poti was occupied by the invading Red Armies
Red Army invasion of Georgia
The Red Army invasion of Georgia also known as the Soviet–Georgian War or the Soviet invasion of Georgia was a military campaign by the Soviet Russian Red Army against the Democratic Republic of Georgia aimed at overthrowing the Social-Democratic government and installing the Bolshevik regime...
of Soviet Russia which installed a Soviet government in Georgia. During the Soviet era, Poti retained its principal function of a seaport and the town was further industrialized and militarized.
During the 2008 war with Russia Russian aircraft attacked the port. Although a ceasefire was declared on August 12, on the following day Al Jazeera reported "more and more Russian troops coming into the area" plus the destruction of several Georgian vessels.
On August 23, 2008, the Russians pulled out of most of Georgia following a peace deal to end the South Ossetia war. Russia has continued to keep a military presence in Poti, which they argue is within the remit of the peace agreement; many western nations on the other hand have stated that this contradicts the terms.
Economy
Service and food industry represent the most important sectors of the economy. The Poti Sea PortPoti Sea Port
The Poti Sea Port is a major seaport and harbor off the eastern Black Sea coast at the mouth of the Rioni River in Poti, Georgia. Its UN/LOCODE is GEPTI and is located at...
(7.7 million tons per annum) is operational. The railway to Tbilisi makes this a more useful port than the natural harbor at Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
.
In April 2008, Georgia sold a 51% stake of the Poti port to the Investment Authority of the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) emirate to develop a free industrial zone (FIZ) in a 49-year management concession, and to manage a new port terminal. The creation of a new FEZ was officially inaugurated by the President of Georgia
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in a November 2003...
on April 15, 2008.
As of November 2009 there are plans for a Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
-Poti ferry route.
Fiber Optic Network
A long haul submarine cable system - aptly named CAUCASUS - from Varna Bulgaria across the Black Sea to Poti Georgia was laid during the month of July 2008 onboard the American cable ship CS Tyco Decicive, just a couple of weeks prior to the South Ossetia War.http://www.tycotelecom.com/company/view.asp?id=298&type=Press This cable system will be Georgia's first privately owned fiber optic system for the citizens of Georgia. Instead of paying high prices for internet/TV/phone usage through Turkey, Georgians will now be able to pay much less for their own private high speed fiber optic cable internet cable system usage.Military
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invasion
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Commanded by Major-General Mikhail Kumanin, the base operated as a part of the Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
and included 2 submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
divisions, a torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
division, coastal guard boat division, 2 minesweepers
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
, 4 coastal and 6 missile batteries, etc. After the German capture of Sevastopol and Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
in 1942, several destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s were transferred to be based at Poti which, together with another Georgian port city of Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
functioned as a secondary harbor in the Black Sea Campaigns (1941-44)
Black Sea Campaigns (1941-44)
The Black Sea Campaigns are the operations of the Axis and Soviet naval forces in the Black Sea and its coastal regions during World War II between 1941 and 1944, including in support of the land forces, and non-combat operations....
. By the early 1990s, the Poti base had accommodated several smaller units of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, but became essentially defunct after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
. In December 1992, Russia withdrew all its vessels and ammunition from the Poti naval base, but an ethnic Georgian commander of one landing ship refused to obey Moscow’s order and displayed a Georgian flag. At almost the same time, the Georgian government created a Joint Naval Brigade, consisting of several boats, a battalion of marines, an artillery division and a communication detachment. Since then, the Brigade has been enlarged and reequipped with the help of the NATO-member states.
On October 9, 1993, a war-torn
Georgian Civil War
The Georgian Civil War consisted of inter-ethnic and intranational conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia , as well as the violent military coup d'etat of December 21, 1991 - January 6, 1992 against the first democratically elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his...
Georgia had to legalize the Russian military presence in the country, and lease, among other military facilities, the Poti base to the Russian navy. However, Georgia continued, though fruitlessly, to claim the vessels formerly stationed at Poti as a part of a tripartite Russo-Ukrainian-Georgian dispute over the Soviet Black Sea Fleet shares. By September 1998, the Russian military personnel had been withdrawn from Poti to the Russian base at Batumi under a Russo-Georgian agreement signed earlier that year.
Currently, Poti is a military facility
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
assignment to several of Georgia’s units. These are the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
and main base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
of the Georgian navy
Georgian Navy
The Georgian Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire coastline of Georgia, as well as the Georgian territorial waters...
, a primary naval logistic support base, a station of a naval squadron, and barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
for a separate light infantry
Light infantry
Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of the Georgian Ground Forces.
Twin towns — Sister cities
LaGrange, GeorgiaLaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange is a city in Troup County, Georgia, United States. It is named after the country estate near Paris of the Marquis de La Fayette, who visited the area in 1825. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census...
, USA Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Larnaca
Larnaca
Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
Aktau
Aktau
Aktau , formerly known as Shevchenko , is a city in Kazakhstan's Mangyshlak Peninsula and country's only seaport on the Caspian Sea. It is the capital of Mangystau Province in western Kazakhstan...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
(2005) Nafplio, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
External links
- www.poti.ge (Poti city Portal)
- Poti city web site
- Poti Sea Port Authority
- Chart of Poti port
- @bbc - The Georgian foreign ministry said the Black Sea port of Poti, which is the site of a major oil shipment facility, had been "devastated" by a Russian aerial bombardment.