A settlement known here from theHellenistic period, with theGori Fortress built at least in 7th century, it received town status in the 12th century. Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times. The city wasoccupied by Russian troops during the 2008Russo–Georgian War.
Gori is located 86 kilometres west of Georgia's capitalTbilisi, at the confluence of the riversMtkvari andGreater Liakhvi, 588 meters (1,929 ft)above sea level. The climate ishumid subtropical, transitioning tohumid continental climate, with warm and moderately humid weather. Summer is usually hot. The average annual temperature is 11.2 °C (52.2 °F), minimal in January (−0.4 °C or 31.3 °F) and maximal in July and August (22.1 °C or 71.8 °F). The maximum precipitation falls in May (65.8 mm or 2.6 in) and minimum in February (28.2 mm or 1.1 in). Precipitation here averages 507 mm (20.0 in).
Highest recorded temperature: 38.0 °C (100.4 °F) on 13 August 2006[3]
Lowest recorded temperature: −22.2 °C (−8.0 °F) on 16 December 2004[3]
Climate data for Gori (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–present)
The territory of Gori has been populated since the earlyBronze Age. According to medieval Georgian chronicles, the town of Gori was founded by KingDavid IV (r. 1089–1125) who settled refugees fromArmenia there.[5] However, the fortress of Gori (Goris-Tsikhe) appears to have been in use already in the 7th century, and archaeological evidence indicates the existence of an urban community inClassical Antiquity. In 1299, Gori was captured by theAlan tribesmen fleeing theMongol conquest of their original homeland in theNorth Caucasus. The Georgian kingGeorge V recovered the town in 1320, pushing the Alans back over theCaucasus Mountains.
With the downfall of the medievalGeorgian kingdom, Gori – strategically located at the crossroads of major transit routes – was frequently targeted by foreign invaders, and changed its masters on several occasions. It was first taken and sacked byUzun Hassan of theAk Koyunlu in 1477, followed byTahmasp I of Persia in the mid-16th century. By the end of that century, Gori briefly passed to theOttomans through the1578–90 Ottoman–Persian War, and became their major outpost in Georgia until being recovered by the Georgians underSimon I of Kartli after heavy fighting in 1599. The town was once again garrisoned by the Persians underShah Abbas I in 1614. Following successive occupations by the Ottomans (1723–35) andPersians (1735–40s), Gori returned to Georgian control under the kingsTeimuraz II andErekle II whose efforts helped to advance economy and culture in the town. Following theRussian annexation of Georgia, Gori was granted the status of a town within theGori Uyezd of theTiflis Governorate in 1801. It grew in size and population throughoutthe 19th century. A plan of 1824 shows the town on the hill slopes below the citadel, and a moat around it.[6] The town was destroyed in the1920 earthquake, and almost completely rebuilt in theSoviet period. An important industrial center in Soviet times, Gori suffered from aneconomic collapse and the outflow of the population during the years of a post-Soviet crisis of the 1990s.
Gori is close to theGeorgian–Ossetian conflict zone. It is connected to breakawaySouth Ossetia's capitalTskhinvali via a railroad spur which has been defunct since the early 1990s. Since the 2000s, Georgia has increased the military infrastructure in and around the city. Thus, theCentral Military Hospital was relocated from Tbilisi to Gori and re-equipped in October 2006.[7] On January 18, 2008, Georgia's secondNATO-standard base to accommodate the 1st Infantry Brigade (Georgia) of theGeorgian Ground Forces was established at Gori.[8] The Georgian Agrarian Science Academy Branch was established in the city in 1995; this becameSukhishvili University in 2003.
In the 2008Russo-Georgian War, the town came under aerial attack by theRussian Air Force from the outset of the conflict. Military targets and residential districts of Gori were hit by the airstrikes, resulting in civilian injuries and deaths.[9][10]Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed that Russian forces had indiscriminately deployedcluster bombs in civilian areas around Gori. According to HRW, on August 12 Russian forces dropped cluster bombs in the centre of Gori, killing 11 civilians and wounding dozens more.[11] Russian military officials deny using cluster munitions in the conflict, calling the HRW assertion "slanderous" and questioning the HRW's objectivity.[12] Numerous unexploded "bomblets" have been found by locals and HRW employees.[13]
By August 11, Georgian military personnel, government, and most residents had fled the city, which was thencaptured and occupied by theRussian military andSouth Ossetian separatist militia. HRW subsequently accused the militia of unleashing a campaign oflooting,arson,kidnapping and other attacks against the remaining civilian population.[14] The Russian and South Ossetian forces withdrew from the city on August 22, 2008.[15] The following day Units of the Georgian Army returned to Gori. However, Russian checkpoints remained near Gori as well as in so-called buffer zones near the borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.[16]
Statue of Stalin stood outside the Town Hall until being removed in 2010 as part of the country's de-Sovietization processGori train stationAkaki Tsereteli street in Gori
Gori and its environs house several notable cultural and historical landmarks. Although for many foreigners Gori is principally known as the birthplace ofJoseph Stalin, in Georgian historical memory the city has long been associated with its citadel, theGori Fortress, which is built on a cliffy hill overlooking the central part of the modern city. On another hill stands the 18th centurySt. George's church of Gorijvari, a popular place of pilgrimage. The famous ancient rock-hewn town ofUplistsikhe and the 7th centuryAteni Sioni Church are located not far from Gori.
Stalin's association with the city is emphasized by theJoseph Stalin Museum in downtown Gori and, until recently, the Stalin monument in front of theGori City Hall, one of the few such monuments to surviveNikita Khrushchev'sde-Stalinization program. The monument was a source of controversy in a newly independent Georgia in the 1990s, but for several years the post-communist government acceded to the Gori citizens' request and left the statue untouched.[25][26] It was ultimately removed on June 25, 2010.[27] However, on 20 December 2012, the municipal assembly of Gori voted to reinstate the monument.[28][29]
^Кавказский календарь на 1915 год [Caucasian calendar for 1915] (in Russian) (70th ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1915. p. 245. Archived fromthe original on 4 November 2021.
^Кавказский календарь на 1917 год [Caucasian calendar for 1917] (in Russian) (72nd ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1917. pp. 206–213. Archived fromthe original on 4 November 2021.
^(in Georgian) Kakabadze, V., Gvasalia, J., Gagoshidze I., Menabde, L., Zakaria, P. (1978), გორი ("Gori").Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 226. Tbilisi.
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