Prehistory of the area (until 1948) Before the founding of the modern workers' settlement, "Orkhevi" referred to a geographical area and presumably a
railway station. The area was first mentioned in the Soviet period in the context of the
Sovietization of Georgia in February 1921, when units of the
11th Red Army moved towards Orkhevi station as part of the offensive on
Tiflis. In the post-war years, with the start of the
Samgori irrigation system project, the area became a site of active development. The first preparatory work began in 1946. In October of that year, the press reported on the start of construction of workers' settlements in the area of the future
Tbilisi reservoir. Later, in a letter from the settlement's residents in 1970, it was claimed that the first temporary structures were built as early as 1946. By the end of 1946, Orkhevi was already a recognized landmark on the administrative map of the capital. When forming the electoral districts of
Tbilisi in December 1946, it was mentioned as a boundary point of the Navtlughi electoral district, whose border ran "from
Navtlughi station to Orkhevi". Thus, by the beginning of 1948, Orkhevi was a known area with preparations for large-scale construction underway, but not yet a fully-fledged settlement with an industrial base.
Establishment of the industrial base (1948) The full-scale industrial development of the area, already known as Orkhevi, By April of the same year, the auto repair shops, garage, and mechanical workshops had been built. By July, the central mechanical workshop was being completed, equipped with "first-class machines" for repairing construction equipment and manufacturing parts. At the same time, a
power line was being extended to the industrial zone to supply the workshop, the sawmill, and the material and
cement warehouses. In addition to industrial development, Orkhevi became the starting point for the transport infrastructure of the entire project. It was from the Kakheti highway in the Orkhevi area that construction began of a separate operational road, which ran along the entire route of the main canal and connected all its sections.
Formation of the workers' settlement (1949–1950s) After the creation of the industrial base, active housing construction began. In October 1949, the newspaper
Komunisti reported: "In Orkhevi, several residential houses and a canteen are already ready... then Orkhevi will already be a settlement (
daba)". By the end of 1950, Orkhevi, part of the Gareubani district of Tbilisi, had turned into a well-equipped workers' town for the builders of the Samgori irrigation system. Over two years, 26 residential houses, a kindergarten, a nursery, an outpatient clinic, a barbershop, a bathhouse, a canteen, and a shop were built. Decorative trees were planted along the straight streets, and the settlement was equipped with its own radio communication center, water supply, and
power station. By this time, the construction of a club for 300 people and a
post office building was near complete. Housing construction continued: by December of the same year, six additional houses were built for drivers and mechanics, and medical stations with dental offices were opened. The social and cultural life of the settlement also developed rapidly. In 1951, a public
library was opened. (now the
Terenti Graneli Library) and a new club, where concerts were held, including tours by artists from the
Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. The settlement took pride in its
outstanding workers, among whom were
roofer Giorgi Peshkhelashvili, drivers Nadezhda Klyshina and Ivan Arutyunov, and excavator operators Ivan Timchenko and Stepan Fadeev, sawyer Mikhail Meladze, and carpenter Georgy Ninoshvili and by 1954, a primary party organization was already active here. To provide the construction project with qualified workers, courses for the training and advanced training of construction personnel were organized. Despite the active development, the quality of life and utility services was not always high. In 1952, residents complained about the meager assortment in the store and were forced to travel to Tbilisi for
essential goods.
Administrative reforms and industrial growth (1960s–1980s) In the 1960s, the settlement underwent significant administrative transformations and faced domestic problems typical of rapidly growing workers' settlements. In April 1962, as part of a reform, the Samgori district was separated from the administrative jurisdiction of Tbilisi. Simultaneously, the "settlement of the Samgori Irrigation System Administration" was officially merged with the village of Orkhevi, and the new entity was named the Samgori settlement. By 1970, almost a quarter of a century after its founding, living conditions had worsened: in a collective letter, 40 residents complained about the extreme dilapidation of the "temporary structures built in 1946", frequent interruptions in the supply of drinking water, and an almost complete lack of electricity. the construction of a number of new industrial facilities began in the settlement. A key enterprise was the new "reinforced concrete structures plant (ZhBK)", built in the early 1980s by "Tbiltonnelstroy" under the leadership of
Hero of Socialist Labour Alexander Datashvili. This enterprise, on a field that, according to a contemporary, "looked like a runway", and past which a road ran, bordered by the "pink foam of blossoming almond trees" from the gardens of the
Alekseevka settlement, was of strategic importance. It was critical for supplying the construction sites of the
Tbilisi Metro, which, in the words of a journalist, were "starving", experiencing a severe shortage of structures, and awaited the plant's launch like "
manna from heaven". In February 1982, the plant, which included a concrete mixing unit and a central warehouse for 1,100
tons of
cement, produced its first products. Its design capacity was 20,000
m³ of precast
reinforced concrete and 50,000m³ of ready-mix concrete per year. In connection with its launch, the old ZhBK plant on
Eliava Street in Tbilisi was closed down in 1983. In the mid-1980s, a branch of the "Tbilisi Building Materials Combine" was opened in Orkhevi with a new tool workshop. To staff it, the management organized a "labor landing party" (a special team of experienced workers) from the main enterprise, led by engineer Semyon Semiletov, so that the traditions of the
combine, as it was said, were "already in their blood". By 1988, the combine had established the production of
plumbing fixtures and
cladding panels from
marble and
polymer waste, using equipment from the West German firm "ADM" and the Dutch "Stork". • A textile and haberdashery combine (under construction in 1971). • New buildings for the Kalinin Foundry Equipment Plant (scheduled for completion in 1989). • Souvenir production by the "Solani" association (planned in 1985), which was to produce items in a national style: bags,
tobacco pouches, scarves, and headwear. In 1987, the creation of a centralized repair base in Orkhevi for the industrial needs of the entire
republic was discussed.
Post-Soviet period and contemporary period With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition to a market economy, Orkhevi, like all of Georgia, entered an era of radical change. This period was characterized by sharp contrasts: the emergence of private enterprise against a backdrop of economic instability, a spiritual revival amidst rising crime, and the gradual integration into the country's new social and defense structures.
1990s: Transitional economy In the 1990s, private companies began to form on the basis of Soviet industrial facilities. A striking example of adaptation to the new conditions was JSC "Vaziani". Its general director, David Akhvlediani, who was educated in
Moscow specializing in foreign trade, returned to Georgia during difficult years and took charge of the enterprise. By 1998, Vaziani was producing the popular "Tsarskoe"
champagne but, like many industries of that time, faced high taxation and a lack of sales markets, which hindered the production of
cognac and forced it to operate at partial capacity. The economic situation of that time was reflected in the details. In 1996, the
U.S. Embassy held a closed auction in Orkhevi, on the site of the dairy, selling scarce goods: generators, washing machines, dryers, and building materials, which indicated the need of the population and organizations for basic infrastructure.
Spiritual life, security, and development in the 2000s Against the backdrop of socio-economic difficulties, a spiritual revival began in the settlement. A landmark event was the construction of a new
Orthodox church in honor of
Saint Nino. At the same time, Orkhevi acquired new importance in the country's defense system. In 2007, as part of military cooperation with
Turkey, a repair point for the
logistics battalion in the settlement was renovated and equipped.
The case of the "Orkhevi Maniac" and crime chronicle In the 2000s, the settlement gained notoriety due to a series of brutal
murders and acts of
cannibalism committed by a local resident, Mikhail Azaladze. He was nicknamed the "Orkhevi maniac" by law enforcement agencies and was sentenced to
life imprisonment. The crimes, committed at 1 Chantladze Street in Orkhevi, drew the attention of the entire country to the settlement. The crime chronicle of that period also reporte on other incidents. In March 2000, a resident of Shakhty, Russia, was detained in Orkhevi for smuggling and attempting to sell 78.2 grams of
opium. Residents of the settlement themselves became victims of the generally unstable situation: in the same month, an attack in the center of Tbilisi, near the
Tbilisi Funicular, on an Orkhevi resident, Giorgi Tskhovrebashvili, was reported. In the political life of the capital, the settlement is part of one of the
majoritarian districts of the Samgori district, whose representatives are elected to the city
Sakrebulo. During this period, the authorities also addressed the problem of moving residents from dilapidated housing. In January 2011, Orkhevi became the site of the forced eviction of dozens of internally displaced (IDP) families who lived in one of the former administrative buildings of the settlement. On January 20, 2011, with the participation of the police, their eviction was carried out. Special attention was drawn to the dilapidated building of the former "Turist" auto base at 4/2 Chantladze Street, where 10 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and six socially vulnerable families had been living since 1998. According to a report by the Tavisupali Zona TV channel on February 7, 2016, they had been living here for 10 to 15 years in makeshift structures without sewage, gas, or proper water supply. Residents complained about the complete inaction of the authorities, including Guliko Zumbadze (a Sakrebulo deputy) and Mamuka Chokuri (former head of the Samgori district), who, they claimed, only made promises during election periods but did not solve their main problem—the legalization of their housing. In April 2016, after numerous appeals, a decision was made to conduct a second technical examination of the building. By June of the same year, an agreement was reached to provide new housing for 11 IDP families through the relevant ministry, as well as to find alternative housing for 9 families who did not have IDP status. The issue of final resettlement remained on the agenda of the Sakrebulo's Human Rights and Civil Integration Commission in 2017. In July 2016, the settlement became the scene of a social protest. Residents held a rally demanding the restoration of the former Polyclinic No. 22, the only medical facility in Orkhevi. It had been closed back in 2011 by merging with Polyclinic No. 16 in Lilo, and at the time of the protest, its building was already being demolished. The rally, initiated by Bezhan Gunava, a representative of the opposition "Alliance of Patriots" party, escalated into clashes with employees of the office of the district's majoritarian deputy, Guliko Zumbadze.
Establishment of municipal housing and the 2015 conflict In 2015, the social housing complex in Orkhevi, while still under construction, became the subject of a social conflict. The issue arose from the authorities' plan to resettle 117 socially vulnerable families from a former military hospital in the
Isani district. The purpose was to vacate the building for its subsequent renovation and allocation to 160 internally displaced families. Some of the evicted families were to be housed in the new municipal housing in Orkhevi, which was designed for 72 families. The process sparked protests from the families facing resettlement and drew critical assessment from the human rights organization Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC, later the Social Justice Center). In a statement on August 12, 2015, EMC highlighted systemic flaws in the resettlement plan: •
Lack of transparent criteria: It was unclear on what basis 72 of the 117 families would be selected to receive apartments in Orkhevi, which, according to the organization, created a risk of unfair distribution. •
Inadequacy of the proposed housing: According to the families, the apartments in Orkhevi were too small for large families and lacked basic living amenities. •
Instability of alternatives: Families not selected for the Orkhevi housing were offered only a temporary rent subsidy until the end of the budget year, which did not constitute a long-term solution. •
Violation of international standards: The human rights advocates emphasized that the process violated Georgia's obligations regarding the right to adequate housing, as eviction is permissible only as a last resort. EMC demanded an immediate halt to the eviction process, the development of objective criteria for assessing the needs of homeless families, and the provision of stable, long-term housing solutions with the direct involvement of the families themselves. The event sparked a mixed reaction. Tbilisi Mayor
Kakha Kaladze stated that the demolition was carried out after repeated warnings and that the city authorities would not tolerate unauthorized land seizure. In turn, the human rights organization "Social Justice Center" (SJC) issued a sharp critique. The organization described the City Hall's actions as "another repressive measure" against the
homeless and part of a systemic policy, rather than an isolated incident. It particularly emphasized that the demolition, carried out during the winter and amid the
COVID-19 pandemic without offering alternative housing, put people "at risk of being left on the street, in destitution, and of physical destruction." The human rights defenders pointed to a systemic flaw in the legislation, which, by ignoring international standards, does not recognize the forced demolition of housing as a form of
eviction, thereby depriving the affected individuals of legal protection. In this context, SJC put forward specific demands: • to the Tbilisi City Hall — to immediately halt the demolition and provide the affected individuals with adequate housing; • to the
Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs — to develop a national housing strategy; • to the
Government and
Parliament of Georgia — to legally recognize forced removal during demolition as a form of eviction and to fully harmonize national legislation with international human rights standards.
Conflict over social housing (2023–2025) In late 2023, the safety of a social housing building in Orkhevi became a critical issue. Built in 1967 as a school food factory, this had been repurposed for social housing in 2017. By 2022, it housed 260 people. For years, residents, including children and people with disabilities, had complained about poor conditions such as dampness, overcrowding, and deteriorating walls and ceilings.
Military-logistics hub in Orkhevi In the post-Soviet period, Orkhevi acquired significant strategic importance as the location of a key facility of the
Defense Forces of Georgia. The transport (automotive) base of the Logistics Command () is located here, serving as a central hub for the reception, distribution, maintenance, and modernization of military equipment. The base is a primary platform for international military cooperation, particularly with
Turkey, under a long-standing "Agreement on Military-Financial Cooperation." It regularly hosts official ceremonies for the transfer of military aid, such as logistics vehicles, maintenance trucks, and tractors. These high-profile events are typically attended by top officials including the Minister of Defense, the Turkish Ambassador, and high-ranking commanders of the Georgian Defense Forces. The facility is also central to the Georgian army's own modernization and reform initiatives. For example, a major program under Minister
Irakli Garibashvili to replace the army's vehicle fleet with modern
Toyota Hilux pickups and
Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs was launched from the base. The site has hosted a polling station during presidential elections and, in a notable 2015 event, soldiers of the 12th Battalion, with Deputy Minister of Defense
Anna Dolidze in attendance, planted 50
cypress trees on the base in memory of their comrades who died in battle. == Geography ==