GORI

city, administrative centre of Gori rayon (sector), Georgia, on the Kura River. Gori is one of the oldest cities in Georgia, founded in the 7th century AD as Tontio. Before the Russian Revolution of 1917 it was a small administrative and market centre. Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, was born there in 1879. He spent his childhood years in the city and later (1888-94) studied at its theological seminary. After the 1917 revolution the industrial base of Gori developed considerably, and today it has an important food-preserving industry, based on locally grown fruit and vegetables. Gori also has an important textile industry based largely on cotton from Azerbaijan. There are also other light industries. Gori has a teacher-training school and an agricultural college. Pop. (1991 est.) 70,100.