Bendukidze University Settlement

Overview

Bendukidze University Settlement (Georgian: ბენდუქიძის საუნივერსიტეტო დასახლება) is a small residential area in Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, in the north-west of the city. OpenStreetMap (OSM) maps it as a residential area called Didi Dighomi University Settlement (დიდი დიღმის საუნივერსიტეტო დასახლება) on the north side of Demetre Tavdadebuli Street.

It is not a single street but a compact block of housing. Its internal street and the dead-end lanes off it carry the name of the composer Sandro Mirianashvili, given by the Tbilisi City Council in 2016. The settlement should not be confused with the Kakha Bendukidze University Campus of the Free and Agricultural Universities, which lies about 2 km to the north-east, on David Aghmashenebeli Alley.

Location

According to OSM, the residential area covers about 4.5 ha. It measures about 0.39 km from west to east and about 0.26 km from north to south. Its centre is at about 41.7961° N, 44.7480° E. Its southern edge runs along Demetre Tavdadebuli Street; Teimuraz I Street meets Demetre Tavdadebuli Street near its south-eastern corner. To the north-west lie Nikoloz Svanishvili Street and Vakhtang Karseladze Street, and the eastern side borders open ground. Petre Iberi Street is about 0.44 km to the east.

OSM shows the Didi Dighomi 4th microdistrict to the south-west. Bus Depot No. 2 of the Tbilisi Transport Company is on the opposite (southern) side of Demetre Tavdadebuli Street.

Streets inside the settlement

By Decision No. 311 of 13 September 2016, the Tbilisi City Council named an unnamed street near Demetre Tavdadebuli Street in the Saburtalo district, together with its sixteen dead ends, after the composer and People’s Artist of Georgia Sandro Mirianashvili. The same decision named another unnamed street and its exit after the engineer Nikoloz Svanishvili. By Decision No. 96 of 29 March 2019, the Council extended Nikoloz Svanishvili Street, its 1st Exit and Sandro Mirianashvili Street.

In OSM, Sandro Mirianashvili Street runs through the settlement, and its numbered dead ends (up to the 16th) branch off it between the houses. The lanes are mapped as service roads; the street itself and some of the lanes are mapped as unpaved.

The name

We could not find an official decision that names the settlement itself, or explains the word “Bendukidze” in its name. In OSM the area is labelled simply as the University Settlement of Didi Dighomi. In Tbilisi, the name Bendukidze is officially linked to universities through the Kakha Bendukidze University Campus of the Free University of Tbilisi and the Agricultural University of Georgia, at 240 David Aghmashenebeli Alley. Both universities were developed by the Knowledge Fund, founded by Kakha Bendukidze.

Kakha Bendukidze

According to the biographical dictionary of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Kakha Bendukidze (20 April 1956, Tbilisi – 13 November 2014) graduated from the Faculty of Biology of Tbilisi State University in 1977 and later worked in research and business in Russia. In 2004 he became Minister of Economic Development of Georgia, and from 17 December 2004 he was State Minister for Reform Coordination. In 2008–2009 he headed the Government Chancellery. In 2007 he founded the Knowledge Fund, a non-profit organisation supporting education and science. He created the Free University of Tbilisi, and the Agricultural University later also came under the Fund’s management. He chaired the supervisory boards of both universities.

Transport

Next to the southern edge of the settlement, OSM shows the bus stops “Didi Dighomi IV m/r (Bus Depot No. 2)”. Several Tbilisi Transport Company bus and minibus routes start or end here, including buses 302, 311, 314, 315, 321 and 335. According to the Free University’s campus page, minibus 460 runs from Didi Dighomi IV microdistrict to the 13th km of Aghmashenebeli Alley, near the Kakha Bendukidze Campus.

There is no metro station nearby. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest stations, Sarajishvili and Guramishvili, are each about 4.6 km away in a straight line.

Nearby places

• Kakha Bendukidze University Campus (Free University of Tbilisi and Agricultural University of Georgia), 240 David Aghmashenebeli Alley — about 2.0 km to the north-east in a straight line. According to the Free University, the first building of the campus has been in use since 1967. It was designed by the architect Lado Alexi-Meskhishvili together with Guram Gabashvili, and it housed the Agricultural Institute of Georgia.

FAQ

1) Where is the Bendukidze University Settlement?
In Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi, on the north side of Demetre Tavdadebuli Street. Its centre is at about 41.7961° N, 44.7480° E.

2) Is it a street?
No. It is a small residential area of about 4.5 ha (according to OpenStreetMap). Its internal street is Sandro Mirianashvili Street with numbered dead ends.

3) Is it the same as the Kakha Bendukidze University Campus?
No. The campus of the Free and Agricultural Universities is at 240 David Aghmashenebeli Alley, about 2.0 km to the north-east in a straight line.

4) Why is it called after Bendukidze?
We could not find an official decision explaining the name. In OpenStreetMap the area is called the University Settlement of Didi Dighomi.

5) Who was Kakha Bendukidze?
A Georgian businessman and statesman (1956–2014): Minister of Economic Development (2004), State Minister for Reform Coordination, head of the Government Chancellery (2008–2009) and founder of the Knowledge Fund (2007).

6) Which streets are inside the settlement?
Sandro Mirianashvili Street and its numbered dead ends. The Tbilisi City Council named them by Decision No. 311 of 13 September 2016.

7) Who was Sandro Mirianashvili?
According to the City Council decision, a composer and People’s Artist of Georgia.

8) Which streets border it?
Demetre Tavdadebuli Street to the south; Nikoloz Svanishvili and Vakhtang Karseladze Streets to the north-west. Petre Iberi Street is about 0.44 km to the east.

9) How can I get there by public transport?
Buses such as 302, 311, 314, 315, 321 and 335 stop at “Didi Dighomi IV m/r (Bus Depot No. 2)” next to the settlement. The nearest metro stations, Sarajishvili and Guramishvili, are about 4.6 km away in a straight line.

Sources

• Didi Dighomi University Settlement (residential area) — OpenStreetMap

• Sandro Mirianashvili Street — OpenStreetMap

• Tbilisi City Council decision No. 311 of 13 September 2016 (Sandro Mirianashvili and Nikoloz Svanishvili Streets) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)

• Tbilisi City Council decision No. 96 of 29 March 2019 (extension of Svanishvili and Mirianashvili Streets) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)

• Kakha Bendukidze — Biographical Dictionary of Georgia, National Parliamentary Library (in Georgian)

• Kakha Bendukidze Campus — Free University of Tbilisi

• Didi Dighomi — Georgian Wikipedia