Statue of Joseph Stalin, Bronze monument in Gori, Georgia.
The Statue of Joseph Stalin is a bronze figure about 20 ft (6 m) tall showing the Soviet leader in a general's coat, and it stands in the courtyard of the Stalin Museum in Gori, Georgia. The statue is visible from the museum grounds and can be seen alongside other objects from the Soviet period.
The monument was put up during the Soviet period and survived the wave of removals ordered by Khrushchev in the 1950s thanks to special authorization from the Politburo. It stood in the central square of Gori for decades before being moved to the museum courtyard.
The statue shows Stalin in a general's coat, and standing in his hometown gives it a meaning that a statue elsewhere would not carry. Visitors often notice flowers placed at its base, a sign that feelings about him remain divided among local people.
The statue stands on the grounds of the Stalin Museum in central Gori, so it is easy to find on foot from most parts of town. Visiting the museum itself gives more context to what the statue represents, so the two are worth seeing together.
When Khrushchev's campaign removed nearly every Stalin monument across the Soviet Union, this one was among the last left standing because of where it was located. No other city could claim Stalin was born there, which gave Gori a case for keeping it that no other place could make.
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