Gori, Georgia
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| Gori გორი |
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.jpg/200px-Gori_cathedral_(view_from_the_Gori_Fortress).jpg) |
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  Gori
გორი |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Georgia |
| Mkhare | Shida Kartli |
| Population (2002) | |
| - Total | 49,500 |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+4) |
| - Summer (DST) | GMT (UTC+5) |
Gori (Georgian: გორი) is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the center of the homonymous administrative district. As of 2002, it had a population of 49,500.
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[edit] Geography and climate
Gori is located 76 km west of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, at the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Greater Liakhvi, 588 m. above sea level. The climate is transitional from moderately warm steppe to moderately humid. Summer is usually hot. The average annual temperature is 10.9°C, minimal in January (-1.2°C) and maximal in August (22.5°C). The maximum precipitation falls in May (76mm) and minimum in August (34mm) and January (30mm).
[edit] History
The territory of Gori has been populated since the early Bronze Age. According to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the town of Gori was founded by King David IV (r. 1089-1125) who settled there the refugees from Armenia. However, the fortress of Gori appears to have been in use already in the 7th century, and archaeological evidence indicates to the existence of an urban community in the Classical Antiquity. In 1299-3, Gori was captured by the Alan tribesmen fleeing the Mongol conquest of their original homeland in the North Caucasus. The Georgian king George V recovered the town in 1320, pushing the Alans back over the Caucasus mountains.
With the downfall of the medieval Georgian kingdom, Gori – strategically located on the crossroad of major transit routes – was frequently targeted by foreign invaders and changed its masters on several occasions. It was first taken and sacked by Uzun Hassan of the Ak Koyunlu in 1477, followed by Tahmasp I of Persia in the mid-16th century. By the end of that century, Gori passed to the Ottomans and became their major outpost in Georgia until being recovered by the Georgians under Simon I of Kartli after heavy fighting in 1599. The town was once again garrisoned by the Persians under Shah Abbas I in 1614.
Following the successive occupations by the Ottomans (1723-35) and Persians (1735-40s), Gori returned to the Georgian control under the kings Teimuraz II and Erekle II whose efforts helped advance economy and culture in the town. Following the Russian annexation of Georgia, Gori was granted the status of a town within the Tiflis Governorate in 1801. It grew in size and population throughout the 19th century, but was destroyed in the 1920 earthquake. An important industrial center during the Soviet Union, Gori suffered from an economic collapse and the outflow of population during the years of a post-Soviet crisis of the 1990s.
Gori is located in the proximity to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone. It is connected to breakaway South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinvali via a railroad spur which has been defunct since the early 1990s. In the 2000s, Georgia has increased military infrastructure in and around the city. Thus, the Central Military Hospital was relocated from Tbilisi to Gori and reequipped in October 2006.[1] On January 18, 2008, Georgia’s second NATO-standard military base was inaugurated at Gori. It is to accommodate the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Georgian Ground Forces.[2]
[edit] Demographics
| Year | 1865 | 1897 | 1914 | 1977 | 1989 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.100 | 10.500 | 25.700 | 54.100[3] | 68.924 | 49.522[4] |
[edit] Landmarks
Gori and its environs house several notable cultural and historical landmarks. Although for many foreigners Gori is principally known as Joseph Stalin’s birthplace, in Georgian historical memory the city has long been associated with its citadel, the Goris-Tsikhe, which is built on a cliffy hill overlooking the central part of Gori. On another hill, stands the 18th-century St. George’s church of Gorijvari, a popular place of pilgrimage. The ancient rock-hewn town of Uplistsikhe and the 7th-century Ateni Sioni Church are located not far from Gori.
Stalin’s association with the city is emphasized by the Joseph Stalin Museum in downtown Gori and the Stalin monument in front of the City Hall, one of the fewest of such monuments surviving Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization. The monument was a source of controversy in a newly independent Georgia in the 1990s, but the post-Communist government acceded to the Gori citizens’ request and left the statue untouched.[5][6]
[edit] References
- ^ Georgian Armed Forces modernize infrastructure. Georgia Today, October 4, 2007.
- ^ New military base in Gori. Ministry of Defense of Georgia, January 18, 2008.
- ^ (Georgian) Kakabadze, V., Gvasalia, J., Gagoshidze I., Menabde, L., Zakaria, P. (1978), გორი ("Gori"). Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 226. Tbilisi.
- ^ Georgia Census 2002. State Statistics Department. Accessed on February 26, 2008.
- ^ Will Lasky. Selling Stalin. Georgian Business Magazine, Issue 4, August 2007.
- ^ Salome Asatiani. Great Terror: In Stalin's Birthplace, Forgiving And Forgetting. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, August 14, 2007.
[edit] External links
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