[Alia]

Gori may be as far to the south as Russia can currently go re in so-called buffer zone. Is there a major highway between Gori and Armenia?

[justa-hairyape]

They have to go through Tibilis to get into Armenia proper. The other path is far east and around the Lower Caucasas range. If they moved east then Azerbaijan might feel threatened and they still have MIGS and the backing of the Turks. This is the stalemate. The Stand in Tibilisi stalls the advance of the Horde. So the Horde gets mad and rapes and plunders the land.