Russians in Tbilisi often arrive unaware of historical sensitivities and simmering hostility
As midnight approached on a recent Saturday evening in Tbilisi, the animated chatter and joyous shouting on the city’s central Rustaveli Avenue was almost all taking place in Russian.
last year, escaping intensifying repression at home and, for men, the prospect of being conscripted to fight. “The majority of the Russians arriving don’t know where they are and how they are viewed as Russians here, due to the historical context,” said Irakli Khvadagiani, of Sovlab, an NGO devoted to rethinking Georgia’s Soviet past.Photograph: Julien Pebrel/MYOP/The Guardian
Stickers displayed in Dedaena Bar, where Russian customers must complete a form denouncing Vladimir Putin.“When we told them to shut up they would say things like: ‘We’re spending money here, what’s your problem?’ They really didn’t realise who we are or where they are or why we are getting offended if they are addressing us in Russian,” said Data Lapauri, one of the bar’s owners.
While the first Russians, who arrived last spring, tended to be politically active and opposition-minded, the people who came after mobilisation were often less politically aware.
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