Editing Batumi (section)

===Imperial Russian rule===
It was the last Black Sea port annexed by Russia during the [[Russian conquest of the Caucasus#Black Sea Coast|Russian conquest]] of that area of the Caucasus. In 1878, Batumi was annexed by the [[Russian Empire]] in accordance with the [[Treaty of San Stefano]] between Russia and the Ottoman Empire (ratified on 23 March)<!-- O.S.? N.S.? Say so at least this once. -->. Occupied by the Russians on 28 August 1878, the town was declared a [[free port]] until 1886. It functioned as the center of a special military district until being incorporated in the [[Kutaisi Governorate]] on 12 June 1883.{{cn|date=January 2025}} Finally, on 1 June 1903, with the [[Artvin Okrug]], the [[Batum Okrug]] was established as the [[Batum Oblast]] and placed under the direct administration of the [[Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917)|Viceroy of the Caucasus]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

The expansion of Batumi began with the construction of the Batumi–[[Tiflis]]–[[Baku]] [[Transcaucasus Railway]] (completed in 1883<ref name=kotov>{{cite web |url=http://kipsinfo.ru/stati-kips-info/iz-istorii-yuzhno-kavkazskoi-zheleznoi-dorogi |title="Из истории Южно-Кавказской железной дороги" ("From the History of the South Caucasus Railway") |author=А.Э. Котов (A.E. Kotov) |language=Russian |date=17 July 2009 |access-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906172133/http://kipsinfo.ru/stati-kips-info/iz-istorii-yuzhno-kavkazskoi-zheleznoi-dorogi |archive-date=6 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=bnito>{{cite web|url=https://ourbaku.com/index.php/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D0%A7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%84%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%B8_%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B5_%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_(%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%83)_-_%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%88%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B4%D1%8B_%D0%B8_%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%83 |title=Каспийско-Черноморское нефтепромышленное и торговое общество (Баку) - Ротшильды и Баку  |trans-title=Caspian-Black Sea Oil Industry and Trade Society – Rothschilds and Baku|publisher=Our Baku|language=Russian|access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref>), and the [[Baku]]–Batumi pipeline which opened in 1907.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.visions.az/en/news/618/3b2f9122/ | title=Baku-Batumi – The world's longest pipeline |publisher=Visions of Azerbaijan |language=English | date=February 2015 |author=Mir-Yusif Mir-Babayev | access-date=31 December 2021 }}</ref> Henceforth, Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea. The population increased rapidly doubling within 20 years: from 8,671 inhabitants in 1882 to 12,000 in 1889. By 1902 the population had reached 16,000, with 1,000 working in the refinery for [[Baron Rothschild]]'s [[Bnito|Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company]].<ref>Simon Sebag Montefiore, Young Stalin, page 77.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Yergin |first1=Daniel |title=The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power |date=1991 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=9780671799328 |pages=60–61}}</ref>

In the late 1880s and after, more than 7,400 [[Doukhobor]] emigrants sailed for Canada from Batumi, after the government agreed to let them emigrate.{{cn|date=January 2025}} Quakers and Tolstoyans aided in collecting funds for the relocation of the religious minority, which had come into conflict with the Imperial government over its refusal to serve in the military and other positions. Canada settled them in [[Manitoba]] and [[Saskatchewan]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}