This paper examines how the Russian Empire, in the second half of the nineteenth century, sought to shape a new identity in Tiflis through the institution of education. As the administrative and military-political center of the Caucasus, the city became a platform where education not only transmitted knowledge but also contributed to the formation of loyalty, a new civic consciousness, and the internalization of imperial values. The paper demonstrates how education created a link between local elites and imperial authority. The socio-cultural diversity of Tiflis provides an opportunity to observe how education functioned as an ideological arena in which new identities, forms of loyalty, and social relations were constructed. Our research allows us to view education not merely as a means of instruction, but as a significant instrument that exerted influence on political, social, and cultural life.
