[MIDDLE EAST / WW1 / RUSSIA] A historically significant manuscript document declaring damage in the Russian bombardment on June 10, 1917 during the First World War, of Ordu city and the properties belonging to the daughter of Tavdgiridze (1829-1911)

RUSSIAN BOMBARDMENT OF THE BLACK SEA SHORES IN 1917, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Ordu Vilâyeti Muharrerât Kalemi, Ordu Vilâyât, [AH 1340] = 1924.

COMPLETE TITLE: [MIDDLE EAST / WW1 / RUSSIA] A historically significant manuscript document declaring the damage by the Russian bombardment on June 10, 1917, during the First World War, of Ordu city and the properties belonging to the daughter of Çürüksulu Ali Pasha Tavdgiridze (1829-1911)

Original manuscript document on a thin and non-watermarked paper with "the Turkish Republic Ordu Province Muharrerât" letterhead. 21x15 cm. Stamped. A slight tear on the folded traces. No missing, a good paper. Signed by the Director of the Ordu City Government Staff at the lower left.

A historically significant manuscript document declaring the damage suffered by the Russian bombardment on June 10, 1917, during the First World War, of Ordu city and the properties belonging to the daughter of Çürüksulu Ali Pasha Tavdgiridze (1829-1911). Among the damaged properties are a coffee house, a private house, and a hammam [i.e. the bath]. The document was written in 1924.

The Turkish Damage Assessment Commission (Tedkîk-i Hasarât Komisyonu) reported the results in registers numbered 20 and 27. The registers say that the damage after the bombardment by Russian naval forces and pecuniary damage is in detail.

According to the Damage Assessment Reports kept by the Canik mutasarrifate as a result of the bombardments by the Russian Navy during World War I, it is understood that the first bombardment was on June 10, 1915. In this bombardment organized by Russian warships, various points in the city center of Samsun, the port, and small and medium-sized merchant ships cruising offshore were chosen as targets. According to the records of the municipal engineer taken on 17-21 June 1915, the government buildings in Samsun are the most damaged buildings.

Since the beginning of 1915, Russian warships bombarded the Black Sea coasts and especially all the piers from Hopa to Sile and sank the vessels there.

Çürüksulu Ali Pasha (1829-1911) was a Georgian soldier who served in the Ottoman army. He was a member of the Tavdgiridze family, which is a Georgian noble family, known since the 14th century. After the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War, he took a close interest in the immigration of Georgians and ensured that these immigrants were settled in Ordu, Fatsa, and Ünye regions.

Overall, a rare and historically significant manuscript document.

The Turkish transcription is below:
"Tedkîk-i Hasârât Komisyonu'na aid olub kalemde mevcud tasdiksiz defter [27] numerosunda Ali Pasa kerimesi Emine Melek hanimefendi namina mukayyid kahve, hamam, eczanenin Rusya donanmasi tarafindan vukubulan bombardimanda 750 bin kurus ve 10 Haziran 333 tarihli ve Hasârât Komisyonu'nda tasdikli defterin [20] numerosunda Mine Hanim Musa beha(?) namina mukayyid kahvehanenin Rus donanmasi tarafindan vukubulan bombardimanda 5 bin kurus hasar tesbit edildigi mukayyid olmakla isbu varaka vukubulan acziyet(?) üzerine ita kilinmistir".