Joseph Stalin Museum, Gori

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The Joseph Stalin Museum in Gori, Georgia is dedicated to the life of the town's most famous son, Joseph Stalin, who became the leader of the Soviet Union.

The museum has three divisions, all located in the town's central square.

The Joseph Stalin Museum in Gori- in the foreground, the house where Stalin was born

The main corpus is a large palazzo in Stalinist Gothic style, begun in 1951 ostensibly as a local history museum, but clearly intended to become a memorial to Stalin, who died in 1953. It contains many items actually or allegedly owned by Stalin, including some of his office furniture, his personal effects and gifts made to him over the years. There is also much illustration by way of documentation, photographs and newspaper articles. The display concludes with one of twelve copies of the death mask of Stalin taken shortly after his decease.

In front of the main museum is the house in which Stalin was born and spent his first four years, now extensively reconstructed and housed under a stone canopy.

Stalin's personal railway carriage at the Stalin Museum, Gori

At one side of the museum is Stalin's personal railway carriage. The carriage, which is armour plated and weighs 83 tons, was used by Stalin from 1941 onwards, including his attendances at the Yalta Conference and the Teheran Conference. It was sent to the museum on being recovered from the railway yards at Rostov-on-Don in 1985.