Даниил М.
Google
My friend and I are Ukrainians who have been living in Europe for several years. For New Year’s Eve, we deliberately chose to travel to Tbilisi and planned in advance to visit Bassiani specifically on this date, given the special event and the political context that the club itself actively highlights in its publications and manifestos.
We attempted to enter the club on January 1st at approximately 1:30 AM, but were denied entry without any explanation.
Bassiani publicly presents itself as a space of resistance, freedom, and solidarity. At the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian flag was displayed in the club for some time, and words of support for Ukraine were voiced. This makes the situation even more painful and difficult to understand when Ukrainians are refused entry without any clear reason.
At the same time, it is well known that Georgian DJs, including Bassiani residents, have performed in Ukraine after the start of the war. Events in Kyiv featured artists such as Kancheli and NDRX, who were welcomed and supported in Ukraine during wartime.
This raises a logical and uncomfortable question:
Who is being supported here, and in what way?
Why are Georgian artists able to perform in a country at war, while Ukrainians cannot enter a club in Georgia that openly speaks about solidarity, resistance, and shared values?
This is not about money, nor about being upset over face control. It is about the gap between declared principles and real actions. When support exists only on the level of symbols and statements, but does not extend to real people, it begins to feel like hypocrisy.
