Gendarmerie cards kept in the National Archives of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia have become available through a web program.

 

The Central Historical Archive of the National Archives of Georgia preserves the fund of the Gendarmerie Division of the Tbilisi Province of the Russian Empire. Among the documents united in this fund is a card library, which consists of more than 5000 cards compiled in 1904-1917 in the gendarmerie divisions of different Caucasian provinces. From now on, all interested persons can view the electronic version of the cards on the website of the National Archives: https://archive.gov.ge/ge/tbilisis-guberniis-zhandarmta-sammartvelo-1.

 

Politicians, public figures, clerics, revolutionaries, agents, people accused of various crimes, including women and minors, were hit on the cards in their time.

 

Each card contains information about a person detained or wanted by the gendarmerie. Most of the cards contain details of the persons's biography and physical characteristics, as well as photographs and fingerprints, while in a small part only the name and surname of the person are recorded.

 

The catalog allows scholars interested in the history of the early twentieth century or the biographies of specific individuals to identify and use gendarmerie cards. Cataloging and adding cards is still ongoing.