Variani ( ka, ვარიანი) is a village in the
Gori District
Gori ( ka, გორის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Goris municiṗaliṫeṫi'') is a district of Georgia, in the region of Shida Kartli. After abolishment of former South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast, the Gori District includ ...
of
Shida Kartli, about from
Gori. As of 2014, it had a population of 1,469.
Variani is best known for being the birthplace of
Iakob Gogebashvili and the location of the Iakob Gogebashvili House Museum, being a border village to the
South Ossetia disputed territory, and being occupied by Russian forces in the
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
until 8 October 2008.
Notable people
In addition to
Iakob Gogebashvili, who was born in Variani in 1841, the boxer
Georgi Kandelaki
Georgi Kandelaki ( ka, გიორგი კანდელაკი; born April 10, 1974 in Variani, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union) is a retired Georgian boxer of Caucasus Greek descent, and current boxing administrator. He ...
who won the
1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 1997 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary from October 18 to October 26. The ninth edition of this competition, a year after the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, was organised by the world governing body ...
in the Superheavyweight category and competed in the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
, was born on 10 April 1971 in Variani.
See also
*
Shida Kartli
References
Populated places in Shida Kartli
{{Georgia-geo-stub