Batumi is preparing for the New Year. Squares, gardens, streets, our favorite boulevard are solemnly decorated. The uplifted huge on the square will soon be lighten up, all thanks to electricity. No, and there was a time when the city was glowing with the glare of oil lamps. 23 rubles a year needed to operate 49 lanterns in the city. Yes sir, it was counted and calculated. The number of lights was limited and people trained in their uniforms, in order to took care of their work. It is not a joke to light up the city. Due to the fact that this non-homework was properly done, the city was giving these people a proper respect.

But time and progress are worth it. If the latest fashion caprices had the power to take Paris from Batumi in a few weeks, the latest technical advances invented by the world's brightest minds would have prevented it from coming here. Such a fortune was also visited by electricity.

Well, this is happening when even the big cities can't quite figure out what this "electron" is. Especially for Batumi, this bright light was a very strange thing for the population, not yet properly used to the old lights. But just how strange it all ended. Electrification was a very expensive pleasure. Care was begun in 1891, but the process accelerated when Luka Asatiani got involved. Design work was also done, then from cabinet to cabinet, from instance to instance and final approval. 130 000 rubles were allocated for Batumi lighting. The money was allotted, but very little. Only forty lamps could be purchased for the allocated amount. That in itself would not be enough for the whole city. That's why it was decided to have the lights installed at the crossroads. This would illuminate several streets at once. Lighting would follow the city from the port to the railway station. Soon there was also a power station, which of course operated on oil, and its engine was 120 horsepower. From today's point of view, ridiculous power was shining throughout the city.

In 1901, Jerry stumbled upon homes and hotels. In 1906, newspaper advertisements in prestigious hotels proudly added that a guest would be met by telephone and electron.

However, the electron's arrival was not met with celebration by the population. As we said, at first the streets were lightened with oil, and the houses were lit by gas.

The ladies at the parties complained that their electrified, shaggy faces in the electronically-lit rooms were shining with "beauty" and even increasing in age. The merchants argued that their goods looked much more attractive than gas or oil at all, rather than electricity. But time and progress have made their mark. Power stations were powered by motors, lights moved from sidewalks to sidewalks, and electricity was slowly replaced by gas in city windows.

So Batumi can be proud of being one of the first European cities to have electric lights illuminated on the streets, and the shining light of electrons from the windows.