View source for Dusheti

{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Dusheti
| native_name        = დუშეთი
| settlement_type    = Town
| image_skyline      = Dusheti general view.jpg
| imagesize          = 280px
| image_shield       = Dushetis gerbi.png
| pushpin_map        = Georgia#Georgia Mtskheta-Mtianeti
| pushpin_mapsize    = 280
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Dusheti in Georgia
| subdivision_type   = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag|Georgia}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Mkhare]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Mtskheta-Mtianeti]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Dusheti Municipality|Dusheti]]
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| population_as_of   = 2024
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://geostat.ge/media/61960/1-3-population-by-cities-and-boroughs.xlsx |title=Population by regions |publisher=National Statistics Office of Georgia |access-date=29 April 2024 }}</ref>
| population_total   = 7,238
| population_density_km2 = 
| timezone           = Georgian Time
| utc_offset         = +4
| timezone_DST       = <!-- No DST in Georgia since 2005 -->
| utc_offset_DST     = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|5|0|N|44|42|0|E|type:city_region:GE|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 900
| website            = 
| footnotes          = 
}}
[[File:Dusheti balconies.jpg|280px|right|thumb|Balconies in Old Dusheti]]
'''Dusheti''' ({{Lang-ka|დუშეთი}}) is a town in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], the administrative center of [[Dusheti Municipality]], in the [[Mtskheta-Mtianeti]] [[mkhare|region]]. It is the residence of the Tsilkni Eparchy.

==Geography==
Dusheti is on both banks of the small, mountainous Dushetis-Khevi River in the foothills of the [[Greater Caucasus]] range at an elevation of 900 m. The town is 33 km north of [[Mtskheta]] and 54 km northeast from the capital [[Tbilisi]]. Dusheti has a moderately humid climate, with moderately cold winters and long warm summers. 

=== Transport ===
The town is accessible via a paved road on the [[S3 highway (Georgia)|S3 highway]] (also known as the [[Georgian Military Road]]) connecting Tbilisi to [[Stepantsminda]]. There is regular bus traffic between the town and Tbilisi.

=== Climate ===
{{Weather box
| width = auto
| open = yes
| single line = yes
| metric first = yes
| location = Dusheti
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan mean C = -1.5
| Feb mean C = -0.5
| Mar mean C = 3.9
| Apr mean C = 9.1
| May mean C = 14.3
| Jun mean C = 17.7
| Jul mean C = 20.5
| Aug mean C = 20.5
| Sep mean C = 16.5
| Oct mean C = 11.3
| Nov mean C = 5.3
| Dec mean C = 0.4
| Jan low C = -5.9
| Feb low C = -5
| Mar low C = -1
| Apr low C = 3.2
| May low C = 8.3
| Jun low C = 11.6
| Jul low C = 14.4
| Aug low C = 14.4
| Sep low C = 10.4
| Oct low C = 5.7
| Nov low C = 0.8
| Dec low C = -3.8
| Jan high C = 3
| Feb high C = 4.1
| Mar high C = 8.8
| Apr high C = 15.1
| May high C = 20.4
| Jun high C = 23.8
| Jul high C = 26.6
| Aug high C = 26.7
| Sep high C = 22.6
| Oct high C = 17
| Nov high C = 9.8
| Dec high C = 4.7
| Jan precipitation mm = 29
| Feb precipitation mm = 37
| Mar precipitation mm = 50
| Apr precipitation mm = 75
| May precipitation mm = 116
| Jun precipitation mm = 102
| Jul precipitation mm = 78
| Aug precipitation mm = 62
| Sep precipitation mm = 59
| Oct precipitation mm = 57
| Nov precipitation mm = 60
| Dec precipitation mm = 40
| source = Climate-Data.org<ref>{{cite web | url=https://en.climate-data.org/asia/georgia/mtskheta-mtianeti/dusheti-37228/ | title=Dusheti climate - Climate-Data.org  | publisher=Climate-Data.org | access-date=2019-08-04 }}</ref>
}}

==History==
Dusheti functions as the center of the Dusheti Municipality which, beyond the town itself, includes several villages of the historical community of [[Pkhovi]], ([[Pshavi]], and [[Khevsureti]]). As of the 2014 all-Georgia census, the town had a population of about 6,167.<ref name="2014 Census">{{Georgian Census 2014}}</ref>

Dusheti first appears in Georgian written records in 1215.<ref name="GSE">{{cite book|title=Душети|url=http://bse.sci-lib.com/article035242.html|publisher=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]|access-date=21 June 2020|lang=ru}}</ref> In the 17th century, it served as a residence of the local mountainous lords – the [[Duchy of Aragvi|dukes of Aragvi]] – whose defiance to the Georgian crown more than once led to invasions and devastation of the town by the royal troops. After the abolition of the duchy of Aragvi in the 1740s, Dusheti passed to the crown but significantly declined. In 1801, the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] took over and granted Dusheti a town status.<ref name="GSE"/> Next year, it became the center of [[Dusheti uezd]]. The town and its environs were a scene of disturbances during the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], the peasants’ revolt in 1918, and an armed clash during the 1924 [[August Uprising]] against the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] rule. Dusheti was a center of agriculture and light industry during the Soviet era, but suffered an economic decline and population decrease in the years following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Nowadays, most people work in service industries (banking, education, auto-repair, and retail) as well as subsistence farming. The town is also known for its ''[[khinkali]]'', a meat-filled dumpling very popular in Georgia.

==Culture and recreation==
There are several historical and recreational places in and around Dusheti such as the [[Ananuri]] castle and the [[Bazaleti Lake]]. The town itself houses a number of architectural monuments including the 9th-10th-century church of [[St. George]] and the 18th-century palace of the Chilashvili family. It also is the location of a museum housing archaeological and other items from the Dusheti context.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dusheti Local Museum |url=https://georgianmuseums.ge/en/product/dusheti-local-museum-2/ |website=Georgian Museums |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref>

==Politics and governance==

Dusheti is governed by a municipal administration, with the mayor as the head of the local government. The mayor is elected every four years in municipal elections and is responsible for overseeing local policies, infrastructure, and public services. {{as of|2025}}, the mayor of Dusheti is Manana Narimanidze, who has been in office since 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=dusheti.gov,ge |url=https://dusheti.gov.ge/en/Home |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
As of the 2014 census, a total of 6,167 people live in Dusheti.{{Historical populations|1882|2041|1893|2027|1910|2105|1989|8483|2002|7315|2014|6167|align=none|percentages=pagr|cols=1|source=Population data (1882 - 1910),<ref>{{cite book |title=Кавказский календарь [Текст]. - Тифлис |pages=268, 340 |url=https://viewer.rsl.ru/ru/rsl01003825007?page=340&rotate=0&theme=white |language=Russian}}</ref> (1989 and 2002)<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/georgian/census/2002/I%20tomi%20-%20saqarTvelos%20mosaxleobis%202002%20wlis%20pirveli%20erovnuli%20sayovelTao%20aRweris%20Sedegebi.pdf | title =  საქართველოს მოსახლეობის 2002 წლის პირველი ეროვნული საყოველთაო აღწერის შედეგბი, ტომი I | date = 2003 | publisher = [[National Statistics Office of Georgia]] | language = Georgian | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180928055355/http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/georgian/census/2002/I%20tomi%20-%20saqarTvelos%20mosaxleobis%202002%20wlis%20pirveli%20erovnuli%20sayovelTao%20aRweris%20Sedegebi.pdf | archive-date = 28 September 2018 | url-status = dead}}</ref> and 2014<ref>{{cite web |url=https://geostat.ge/media/61960/1-3-population-by-cities-and-boroughs.xlsx |title=Population by regions |publisher=National Statistics Office of Georgia |access-date=28 April 2024 }}</ref>}}

==Notable people==
*[[Nikolai Bugaev]] (1837–1903), Russian mathematician born in Georgi
*[[Shota Khinchagashvili]] (b. 1951), retired Georgian football player
*[[Alexander Roinashvili]] (1846–1898), first Georgian photographer

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Dusheti Local Lore Museum.jpg|Dusheti Local Lore Museum
File:Georgian Military Road; White castle in Dushet cropped.jpeg|White castle in Dusheti along the Georgian Military Road
File:New year in dusheti - panoramio.jpg|[[New Year]] celebration in the town
File:Dushetis centri.JPG|City center
File:დუშეთის წმინდა გრიგოლის ნიში.jpg|Shrine of St. Gregory in the town
</gallery>

==References==
{{Commonscat|Dusheti}}
{{reflist}}
{{Cities and towns in Georgia (country)}}{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Cities and towns in Mtskheta-Mtianeti]]
[[Category:Tiflis Governorate]]