South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast
The village of Akhalgori was first mentioned in the 18th century by Prince Vakhushti of Kartli in his work "The Geographic Description of Georgia". The name derives from the Georgian words meaning "new" (ახალი/akhali) and "hill" or "mountain" (გორა/gora). Before Sovietization of Georgia in 1921, Akhalgori was the residence of Georgian Noble Eristavi Duce. During the Soviet era it was part of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast and was called Leningori (Ленингори; ლენინგორი) after Vladimir Lenin. It was renamed Akhalgori by the Georgian SSR government at the end of 1990.