Should You Visit the Controversial Stalin Museum in Gori?

This is the question that I asked myself before planning our trip to Gori.

Is it right to go to the Stalin museum? The controversial museum that paints the life of Stalin in pink and conveniently scoots over his huge portfolio of atrocities?

Even the little logo for the museum website is a friendly-looking cartoon of Stalin. It just seems wrong.

But after visiting the museum and experiencing it all ourselves, here’s everything you need to know to come to your own conclusion.

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What is in the museum?

The Stalin museum is in a very grand stone building that is completely out of keeping with the rest of the buildings in Gori. The entrance hall is large and open with marble pillars leading the way up to a set of red-carpeted stairs with a huge statue of Stalin at the top.

It’s all a bit dramatic.

The portion of the museum inside the building consists of photos, paintings, maps and artefacts depicting the sugar-coated version of Stalin’s life. There is then a room full of extravagant gifts that world leaders had presented to Stalin, and la pièce de résistance: the death mask. In the centre of a darkened, empty room, and surrounded by white pillars, is a mask of Stalin’s face. This is a shrine, no doubt about it.

Downstairs, is a small and newly added room with photos and info on the Russian occupation in 2008. To me, this felt as though it was added as a middle finger up to the museum’s critics. The museum might not be reflecting a full picture of Stalin but they do have a small section about the most recent Russian occupation. It just doesn’t fit; and there isn’t much info.

Outside is the building where Stalin was born, and his private train carriage; both of which you can enter as part of your museum ticket.

Why is it so controversial?

The museum was built in 1957 (soon after Stalin’s death in 1953), and it feels like the exhibits have stayed the same since the point where Gori was feeling nostalgic for beloved ‘Uncle Joe’. While the rest of the country was going through a period of de-Stalinisation, Gori was erecting a shrine. 

We took the guided tour and there was not a single mention of anything negative.

Now, we all know that there is a hell of a lot of negative to say about this guy, but this museum doesn’t feel the need to give any info. No gulags, no enforced collectivisation, no Holodomor.

As far as the museum is concerned, Stalin was the great leader of the Soviet Union and therefore got Georgia and Gori recognised. He was so great, that leaders from around the world gave him loads of over-the-top gifts: look, we have a whole a room of these gifts to prove it to you. 

The Stalin museum feels like classic Soviet propaganda.

What is the feeling towards Stalin in Gori today?

There seems to be some nostalgia in regards to Stalin, while many others see him for the pain that he caused. It is a hugely divisive issue in Gori.

Our tour guide told us about her advocating to change place names in the city such as Stalin Park, Stalin Avenue etc. However, these suggestions were met with pushback. Others argue that Stalin is what is keeping Gori on the tourist map, and that Stalin Avenue, Stalin Park and the controversy surrounding them, helps to bring in this dark tourism. 

There are so many other reasons to visit Gori.

How much does entry cost?

A ticket cost us 15 GEL. This includes a guided tour of the museum in the building, as well as Stalin’s train carriage and house outside. You can pay by card or cash.

Do I need a guide in the museum?

Yes.

And the guide is included in your ticket price, so you should definitely take the tour. It’s not a great tour, but there is little to no information in English in the museum if you were to go around by yourself.

Our tour guide sounded as though she had recorded herself giving the whole spiel, and had just hit ‘play’. So, don’t expect to receive huge insight into the life of Stalin from your guide, but you’ll be learning more than if you had to go and decipher the Georgian info yourself.

We visited in the off-season in Jan, and when we arrived and bought our tickets, we were told that we would have to pay 20 GEL for a guide because we were just two people, and no one else was visiting.

We said ‘no, ta. We’ll wait’. So we waited for maybe thirty minutes. No one else turned up, but they caved and gave us a guided tour anyway. The ticket desk shows that the guided tour is included, so stand your ground if this happens to you too!

How do I get there?

Gori is an easy journey from Tbilisi taking just over an hour whether you travel by train or marshrutka.

There are two trains leaving Tbilisi central station in the morning – 08:20 and 09:00 – and they both take one hour to reach Gori. The tickets can be booked online in advance through the Georgian Railways website or 12Go if you want to use a more familiar site. Once you get off the train, walk across the abandoned tracks and head over the bridge into town. It takes about 25 minutes.

Regular marshrutkas also head to Gori each day. Get to Didube bus station (brace yourself, it’s manic) which is easily accessible by metro, and ask for Gori. Someone will point you to the right van. Pay on the bus in cash. It will likely be around the same price as the train.

Gori bus station is in the north of the city and is a good 30 minute walk into the centre. Local buses will take you into the centre; just ask around at the bus station.

Check out our transport guide to know about marshrutka travel in Georgia because it’s a pretty unique experience.

Or if you don’t fancy taking public transport, then you can always hire a private driver through Gotrip. You could add in a stop to Uplistiskhe Cave City on the way (and you won’t have any additional fees for wait time while you explore!)

Where to Stay in Gori

So, is it worth visiting?

Yes, it is worth visiting IF you recognise that you need to take everything you learn inside with a pinch of salt. The museum itself isn’t so interesting that I would recommend making a special trip out here. However, if you are planning on visiting Gori (which I thoroughly recommend for anyone interested in historical cities and street photography), it’s a no-brainer. But make sure you catch up with Zhana who runs free walking tours in Gori to show a very different perspective of Stalin and learn about the history of Gori and the 2008 Russian invasion.

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