The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate^{[lower-alpha 1]} was a province (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except the Hopa and Yusufeli districts) of Turkey between 1878 and 1903. Created out of part of the former Georgia-Imeretia Governorate in 1846, the governorate also included Akhaltsikhe uezd before its cession to the Tiflis Governorate in 1867. The Kutaisi Governorate bordered the Sukhumi Okrug to the northwest, the Kuban Oblast to the north, the Terek Oblast to the northeast, the Tiflis Governorate to the southeast, the Batum Oblast to the southwest, and the Black Sea to the west. The governorate was eponymously named for its administrative center, Kutais (present-day Kutaisi).^[1]

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Kutaisi Governorate Кутаисская губернія
Governorate
Coat of arms
Administrative map of the Kutaisi Governorate (1905–1917)
Country	Russian Empire
Viceroyalty	Caucasus
Established	1849
Abolished	1917
Capital	Kutais (present-day Kutaisi)
Area
• Total	19,956.06 km2 (7,705.08 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Shkhara)	5,193 m (17,037 ft)
Population  (1916)
• Total	1,034,468
• Density	52/km2 (130/sq mi)
• Urban	8.51%
• Rural	91.49%

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The Kutaisi Governorate was formed in 1846 as a result of the division of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate. In 1883, the governorate included the Sukhumi Okrug and two districts (Artvin and Batum) of the then abolished Batum Oblast. In 1903, the Artvin and Batum districts were detached and re-formed into the Batum Oblast. In 1905, the Sukhumi Okrug also received the status of a special district of the Russian Empire, tantamount to a governorate or oblast.^[1]

Following the Russian Revolution, in 1918 the Kutaisi Governorate became part of the short-lived Georgian Democratic Republic.^[1]

The counties (uezds) of the Kutaisi Governorate in 1917 were as follows:^[2]