In the mid-nineteenth century, some of the Doukhobors, expelled from Russia, settled as communes in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia. They gave the villages native names: Tambovka, Bogdanovka (now Ninotsminda), Gorelovka, Spasovka, Orlovka, Efremovka, Troitsovka (now Trinity), and Rodionovka.
The Doukhobors (“fighters for the soul”) do not consider themselves followers of any religion. They believe that Dukhoborism is not a religion, but a worldview. They do not recognize the church, icons, or clergy. Dressed in traditional clothes, they gather every Sunday in a house intended for prayer in the village of Gorelovka, which is considered the centre of the Doukhobors scattered throughout the world.
One-story white houses with blue and green flower-painted shutters, earth roofs used to protect them from the cold in Javakheti, and cranes’ nests on power poles all create the special aesthetics that distinguish Gorelovka from other villages. The furniture and items characteristic of the subculture of the Doukhobors can be found in a museum in Gorelovka.
White and blue prevail in the interior. The fireplaces are decorated with colourful ornaments and the rooms with hand-made items. Canvases, curtains, and pillows embroidered with lively, rich colours feature compositions full of symbols. Nowadays, mostly elderly Doukhobors remain in Gorelovka, as most of them left Georgia and returned to Russia in recent decades. The remaining Doukhobors in Gorelovka are trying to preserve their culture and beliefs, which are in danger of disappearing along with the population decline.
