Joseph Stalin Museum (Region of Shida Kartli)
Joseph Stalin Museum in Gori (Georgian: სტალინის მუზეუმი). The most visited museum complex among the museums of Georgia, it annually receives hundreds of thousands of visitors and is dedicated to all aspects of the life of the famous leader. The museum complex includes a memorial house, a two-story exhibition building and Stalin’s personal carriage. The memorial house, where Soso Dzhugashvili (Georgian: სოსო ჯუღაშვილი) was born, was built in the 19th century. In this house, Stalin’s parents rented one room and a basement, where Stalin’s father made shoes. In the room where the Dzhugashvili family lived, there are items related to that time, and in the second room, where the owner of the house lived, the personal belongings of Stalin’s mother, Ekaterina Dzhugashvili (Georgian: ეკატერინე ჯუღაშვილი), are on display.
The permanent exhibition, telling about the life and work of Joseph Stalin, is located in six halls of a two-story building. The materials of the first hall tell about the pre-revolutionary period of Stalin’s life and his work during the revolution. The second hall covers the policy for the economic and cultural development of the country, conducted under Stalin’s leadership. The third hall contains photographs from the period of the Second World War. There are photos taken at the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences. The fourth hall contains Stalin’s death mask. The fifth hall of the museum is completely dedicated to gifts to Stalin. The sixth hall exhibits Stalin’s Kremlin study and his personal belongings.
Stalin’s only personal carriage, preserved almost in the same form in which Stalin used it during his trips to the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences, was made in St. Petersburg before the revolution. The carriage is armored and weighs 83 tons. The interior is made of mahogany. Interestingly, before Stalin, this carriage was used by the Russian Emperor – Nicholas II. Nothing was altered or restored inside the carriage. Everything is as it was during Stalin’s life: a kitchen with a Russian stove, an officer’s compartment on duty, two two-berth compartments for accompanying persons, Stalin’s personal compartment (bedroom, study and bathroom) and a conference room.
City of Gori (Georgian: ქალაქი გორი), Municipality of Gori (Georgian: გორის მუნიციპალიტეტი)