3rd place
bronze star award
Tamta Gokadze
georgia
title
The place, where Stalin is forever alive
The importance that Stalin was retained in Gori long after the cult of his personality was discarded in 1956. Gori hosts a six-meter-tall bronze statue of the former leader of the USSR which stood outside the local town hall until the night of June 25 2010 when members of the Georgian security forces arrived at the square, quickly dismantled the statue and took it to an unknown place.
Even though most local residents view Stalin without emotions as an integral part of the history of their city, the two groups continue a fierce struggle for his memory. On the one hand, activists want to erase further any traces of Stalin’s former cult of personality and, on the other, groups of active Stalinists want to return his statue to the centre of the city and revive his memory and his ideas.
Although divided into several small associations, local Stalinists all meet twice a year in front of Stalin’s museum in Gori to celebrate his birthday in November and Victory Day in May. Mainly consisting of elderly people, they might at first glance seem like a homogenous mass. In fact, each of them has its own story and individuality.
Later, she started walking around with an old camera and taking pictures of everyday life in a village during the summer holidays. Over the following years, she repeatedly gave up photography for various reasons but always returned to it.
Over the years, Tamta has focused on documentaries and reports with social themes and on capturing dying traditions.
Currently, she is working on several long-term projects: The phenomenon of Stalin in Georgia, Georgian communities on the administrative border line with de facto South Ossetia, everyday life in the mining city of Tkibuli, the life of a person with Alzheimer's disease and celebrations of St. George’s Day in Georgia are all parts of her photography work.
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entry description
When I was moving to Gori in August 2021, I had already decided that I would try to document the phenomenon of local Stalinists. Even nearly seven decades after his death, the former Soviet leader continues to shape the character of this his hometown.The importance that Stalin was retained in Gori long after the cult of his personality was discarded in 1956. Gori hosts a six-meter-tall bronze statue of the former leader of the USSR which stood outside the local town hall until the night of June 25 2010 when members of the Georgian security forces arrived at the square, quickly dismantled the statue and took it to an unknown place.
Even though most local residents view Stalin without emotions as an integral part of the history of their city, the two groups continue a fierce struggle for his memory. On the one hand, activists want to erase further any traces of Stalin’s former cult of personality and, on the other, groups of active Stalinists want to return his statue to the centre of the city and revive his memory and his ideas.
Although divided into several small associations, local Stalinists all meet twice a year in front of Stalin’s museum in Gori to celebrate his birthday in November and Victory Day in May. Mainly consisting of elderly people, they might at first glance seem like a homogenous mass. In fact, each of them has its own story and individuality.
about the photographer
Tamta Gokadze was born in 1987 in Tbilisi. She lives on a rota basis in Slovakia and Georgia. As a small child, Tamta was fascinated by a report on television about a photographer who took pictures of human hands.Later, she started walking around with an old camera and taking pictures of everyday life in a village during the summer holidays. Over the following years, she repeatedly gave up photography for various reasons but always returned to it.
Over the years, Tamta has focused on documentaries and reports with social themes and on capturing dying traditions.
Currently, she is working on several long-term projects: The phenomenon of Stalin in Georgia, Georgian communities on the administrative border line with de facto South Ossetia, everyday life in the mining city of Tkibuli, the life of a person with Alzheimer's disease and celebrations of St. George’s Day in Georgia are all parts of her photography work.
back to gallery