Zestaponi or Zestafoni ( Georgian : ზესტაფონი , romanized : zest'aponi , Georgian pronunciation: [zestʼapʰoni] ) is the administrative center of Zestaponi District in Western Georgia . Zestaponi is the center of an ancient, historical part of Georgia – Margveti, which is a part of Imereti province. Zestaponi is the center of Margveti's Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church. Zestaponi is situated in the furthest east of the Colchis Plateau, and is built on both banks of the Qvirila River .
17-547: It is an important industrial center, with a large ferro-alloy plant processing manganese ore from nearby Chiatura . Zestaponi is in the Kolkheti lowlands, a semi-tropical region with relatively cold winters averaging −4 °C (25 °F) in January and hot summers averaging 24 °C (75 °F) in August. The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region. The town of Zestaponi and
34-635: A gendarme and a soldier and stealing 21,000 roubles. The miners went on a successful 55-day strike in June–July 1913. They demanded an 8-hour day, higher wages and no more night work. The police allowed the RSDRP to lead the strike provided that they did not make any political demands. They were supported by fellow strikers in Batumi and Poti . In 2017, City of the Sun , a documentary film directed by Rati Oneli , follows
51-411: A number of citizens of the city. Due to the steep sided river valley, production workers spent a large amount of time walking up from the town to the mines, thereby reducing productivity. In 1954 an extensive cable car system was installed to transport workers around the valley and up to the mines. The system's 17 lines continued to serve the city using original hardware until 2021. In 2017,
68-426: A printing press, protection racket and "red battle squads". Stalin put Vano Kiasashvili in charge of the armed miners. The mine owners actually sheltered him as he would protect them from thieves in return and he destroyed mines whose owners refused to pay up. In 1906, a gold train carrying the miners' wages was attacked by Kote Tsintsadze 's Druzhina (Bolshevik Expropriators' Club). They fought for two hours, killing
85-597: Is a city in the Imereti region of Western Georgia . In 1989, it had a population of about 30,000. The city is known for its system of cable cars connecting the city's center to the mining settlements on the surrounding hills. The city is located inland, in a mountain valley on the banks of the Qvirila River . In 1879 the Georgian poet Akaki Tsereteli explored the area in search of manganese and iron ores, discovering deposits in
102-653: Is a river of Georgia . It is 140 km (87 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 3,630 km (1,400 sq mi). It is a left affluent of the Rioni , which it joins south of the city Kutaisi . It originates in South Ossetia, in the gorges of the mountains of the Racha Range . Most of the river is located in Georgia. After the confluence with its left tributary Dzirula it flows through flat terrain, before - through
119-561: Is estimated as 239 million tonnes, which include manganese oxide ores (41.6%), carbonate ores (39%), and peroxide ores (19%). In order to transport manganese ore to the ferro-alloy plant in Zestaponi the company developed a rail link which, operated today by Georgian Railways , is fully electrified. Manganese production rose to 60% of global output by 1905. In Chiatura are located the Tsereteli State Theater, 10 schools, Faculty of
136-699: The Georgian Technical University , and the Mgvimevi Cathedral (10th-11th centuries). During the 1905 Russian Revolution Chiatura was the only Bolshevik stronghold in mostly Menshevik Georgia. 3,700 miners worked 18 hours a day sleeping in the mines, always covered in soot. They didn't even have baths. Joseph Stalin persuaded them to back Bolshevism during a debate with the Mensheviks. They preferred his simple 15-minute speech to his rivals' oratory. They called him "sergeant major Koba". He set up
153-585: The 1820s a Cossack army was posted in the town, which was then called "Kvirila" after the river that runs through it. During the Russian Empire , the city was the administrative center of the Shorapani Uyezd of the Kutaisi Governorate . In 1920, the name was changed again to "Jugeli", after a famous revolutionary . In 1921, the city regained its historical name. There are many historical monuments in
170-476: The Georgian government began rebuilding the system using modern cable car technology, beginning with the central four-line hub station. The revamped system opened in September 2021. The original Soviet-era system was deemed unsafe and taken out of service. The government plans to preserve its stations as heritage sites. Chiatura is twinned with: Qvirila River The Qvirila ( Georgian : ყვირილა )
187-540: The Zestaponi region: Zeda Saqara (11th century), Tabakini (6th century), Tseva (11th century), Sanakhshire and other churches, and castles from the early Middle Ages in Shrosha and Shorapani. Shorapani (Sarapanis) is the toponymy, that is mentioned in old Greek mythology. That was Sarapanis that Jason and his Argonaut friends approached during their travel in old Colchis (Kolkhida). The local football club, FC Zestaponi , plays in
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#1732847895984204-474: The area. After other intense explorations it was discovered that there are several layers of commercially exploitable manganese oxide, peroxide and carbonate with thickness varying between 0.2 m (0.66 ft) and 16 m (52 ft). The state set up the JSC Chiaturmanganese company to manage and exploit the huge deposit. The gross-balance of workable manganese ores of all commercial categories
221-582: The ferro-alloy plant in February 2006. Two other plants in the Zestaponi / Shorapani area produce electrical products, aluminum and copper cable and wire. There were more plants in the Soviet era producing fireproof clay, marble and clothing. Zestaponi is also one of the winery-vinery centers of Georgia. Wine prepared from the Tsitsqa and Tsolikouri species are widely known. Zestaponi lies 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) west of
238-413: The small but ancient fortress town of Shorapani , founded by Pharnavaz I of Iberia in the 3rd century BC. The town of Zestaponi is first mentioned in historical records in the 1560s. The name of the city is connected with the bank of river Kvirila ( Georgian : poni ), upper bank ( Georgian : Zeda poni ), that was used by the local population and foreign travelers from ancient times. In
255-561: The smaller neighboring town of Shorapani are industrial centers. The Zestaponi ferro-alloy plant processes raw manganese ore shipped by rail down the Kvirila valley from Chiatura, supplying 6% of world demand. The largest ferroalloy plant in the country, in 1998 it produced 35,000 tonnes of silicomanganese and 11,000 tonnes of medium-carbon manganese alloy. This was well below its previous peak production of 110,000 tonnes of manganese-based alloys. The British steel trading company Stemcor acquired
272-421: The top league in Georgia and twice won the Georgian championship in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 season. The local women's basketball team was champion of Georgia in 2011. The city's stadium was built by Zestaponi Ferro-alloy Plant in 1952 and since its renovation has a capacity of 4,600. The writer Boris Akunin and philosopher Tengiz Tsereteli were born in Zestaponi. The psychologist and philosopher Dimitri Uznadze
289-496: Was born in the nearby village of Sakara in 1886. Famous Georgian actors Shalva Ghambashidze, Ushangi Chkheidze, Sergo and Bukhuti Zakariadze were also born in Zestaponi. World wrestling (Greco-Roman) champion Mikhail Saladze is from Zestaponi. Zestaponi is twinned with: Zestafoni.Ge 42°06′30″N 43°02′30″E / 42.10833°N 43.04167°E / 42.10833; 43.04167 Chiatura Chiatura ( Georgian : ჭიათურა , romanized : ch'iatura )
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