The Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has revived painful memories of the 2008 Russo-Georgian war for the majority of Georgians and the support Moscow offers to Georgia’s breakaway regions. At the same time, a storm of anti-war Russians fearing conscription, economic crisis, and a political crackdown back home has become a noticeable thing on the streets of the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi.
While majority of Georgian nations are not having any problems with the new Russian community, some tensions continue to rage up as the six-month-long war in Ukraine shows no sign of coming to an end.
In one of such gesture of friction, a few of Georgian business owners started asking Russian customers to confirm that they don’t support President Vladimir Putin verbally or in writing.
Dadaena is one of the establishments to have implemented what they call as a “visa policy”, in which Russian people who want to take entry into the bar must fill in an online form & agree to a list of statements, such as “I condemn Russia aggression in Ukraine.”
As per the online form, “Visitors are also asked not to speak in Russian or engage in political talks while being drunk.”
While sitting on the bar’s terrace, Lapuri said that, “It is an extreme policy to say that people of certain nations are not welcomed here. But I don’t want to have someone who favours the battle in Ukraine and voted for Putin at the bar that I own. We don’t want to serve the occupiers.”
