REVIEW
MUSEUM
History museums in the Caucasus.
Between soviet nostalgia
and current regional
disputes
Oriol López Badell
European Observatory on
Memories (EUROM), University
of Barcelona’s Solidarity
Foundation.
T
he region known as the South Caucasus comprises the former Soviet republics of
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. All of them became independent states in 1991
with the fall of the USSR. This territory, stretching south of the Caucasus mountains,
represents an important geo-strategic enclave between the Black Sea and the Caspian
Sea, and the powers of Russia, Turkey and Iran. Thus, throughout history, the region has
undergone constant invasions that have led to violent conflicts, multiple shifts in borders,
and population flows that continue to the present day; episodes that are reflected in the
history museums and memorials of these countries.
If we categorise these museums as observers, we could divide them into two groups:
those that were created during the Soviet era (with exhibitions updated to a greater or
lesser extent), and those of new creation, often with an uninhibited nationalistic discourse.
The first group undoubtedly includes the Stalin Museum in Gori (Georgia), his hometown.
It was inaugurated in 1957, four years after the Soviet leader’s death, and is an imposing
two-storey white stone building at the top of a large avenue also bearing the name of Stalin.
Just in front of the main entrance is the humble birthplace of the former First Secretary of
the Communist Party of the USSR, crowned by a neoclassical structure that ennobles it and
protects it from the inclement weather. Inside the museum, the permanent exhibition has
remained virtually intact since its creation and is articulated as a complete tribute to Gori’s
most “illustrious” son, including paintings dedicated to his figure, personal photographs,
a vast collection of gifts from leaders of other countries, and even his funeral mask. A tiny
room has recently been opened in the gap beneath the main staircases, where a simple art
installation refers to Stalin’s purges and pays tribute to the victims of the Gulag. According
to the English guide, which during the visit also mentions the darkest face of the Stalin,
the Georgian Ministry of Culture has a project to reform the museum, although a clear
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Observing Memories
ISSUE 2