The fortified region was tasked with covering the Turkish border from Chakhmakh to Karavabad, the Leninakan sector.
[2] In July 1946, the 55th Fortified Region was reorganized as the 17th Machine Gun Artillery Brigade, becoming part of the 7th Guards Army.
Its existence as a brigade proved brief as it was reorganized as the 17th Machine Gun Artillery Division just a few months later on 13 August.
The division's installations lined the main roads of Khelvachauri, with at least two barracks blocks, military family housing, and what appears to be a vehicle park or ammunition storage facility which has been hollowed out of gently rolling terrain and camouflaged.
[8] Following several years of tense negotiations, Russia agreed, in March 2005, to complete the withdrawal of the base from Batumi before the end of 2008.