Tbilisi Club Scene Struggles After Raids

The Tbilisi nightlife scene has struggled to regain momentum after last week's police raids. In the early hours of Saturday, May 12, Georgian police raided popular nightclubs Bassiani and Café Gallery as part of an anti-narcotics action in response to the drug-related deaths of five young people which police believe were linked to the clubs. Eight people were arrested before the raids began, one near the territory of Café Gallery, but no-one on the clubs’ premises. What followed was a series of well publicized protests that birthed the catchy slogan, “We dance together, we fight together.” Lovers of dancing and electronic music took their party to the streets as their usual clubs were shut down.

Now, more than a week later, both Bassiani and Café Gallery remain closed to the public. Bassiani’s sister-venue Spacehall has also been closed since the raids.

This Saturday, Bassiani released a statement on Facebook saying that "Despite the negotiations, none of the agreed conditions have been fulfilled...The club is still closed and we have already met the first Friday without BASSIANI. Behind the BASSIANI helmet [logo] stands an angry warrior, who fights for new ideas and who won't back down from the struggle for freedom. We won't stop and will continue to fight against the unjust system and inequality. Thank you very much for your unconditional love and support. In this war for ideas and values, our only hope is our truth and people, who have always stood with us."

Bassiani is one of the best-known and most well respected electronic music venues in Europe, praised by Techno Moves, Resident Advisor, Vice’s Thump, and even W magazine, and listed as one of the 20 best nightclubs in the world by Hostel World. As the summer tourist season prepares to open, it brings into question Mayor Kakha Kaladze’s plan for revitalizing Tbilisi’s night economy. When interviewed by GEORGIA TODAY reporter Benjamin Music just a few days before the raids, Sergi Gvarjaladze, head of the Tbilisi nightlife project, said the project’s goal is “to position Tbilisi as a 24/7 city and organize cultural and sports events for a wider group of people.” He also said one of the biggest obstacles to the concept’s development is “the negative perception of nightlife in general. To change this," he said, "we will need to involve the citizens more in the project and correctly communicate its goals.”

Judging by the intense divisive conversations following the raids and protests, and the counter-protests by far-right nationalist and neo Nazi groups, there is still a long way to go to improving the image of nightlife and the nightclub scene among ordinary Georgian people. Many nightlife lovers have also speculated about the fate of Georgia’s many summer electronic music festivals that bring tourists from dozens of countries, including the enormous GEM Fest, where last year a 22-year old woman died and 20 other people were hospitalized due to drugs.

Bassiani is now reaching out to its customers to help save the club and its regular queer party Horoom Nights as it prepares to mount “a legal battle and stop the state oppression.”

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Resident Advisor / BASSIANI 

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