In Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, clubbing is more than nightlife — it's a form of protest. At nightspots like Bassiani and Mtkvarze, clubgoers support freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and EU integration. Discover how techno beats are fueling political resistance in a country caught between East and West.
00:00It's Friday night in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
00:05Many are out to party in clubs like Mikvaze.
00:09It's a little break in an otherwise conservative yet divided country.
00:14We hear about repression every day. It affects us, our emotions.
00:19These are places where we can share this. They're very lively places.
00:25It's good for people to express themselves and to have somewhere they can express themselves without being afraid of being judged.
00:34We're going to show you why people don't just dance in Tbilisi's clubs, they move together politically too.
00:42Mikvaze, which means on the Mikvari River, has been around since 2012.
00:48The club scene here has grown in recent years and its reputation is stretching far beyond the country's borders.
00:55Tbilisi has become a magnet for ravers.
01:01Maybe it's because we are a very musical nation.
01:07We are a place where many cultures come together.
01:11We're a society that loves interacting with each other.
01:16Clubs in Georgia have long been more than just hedonistic party zones.
01:22Kita Gabunia co-founded Mikvaze, the club that was intended to be a political space from the start.
01:29This is evident right at the entrance with a clear commitment to the European Union.
01:34Even as we entertain, enjoy music and connect with others, we do not forget that our path is European integration.
01:44And as citizens, we fight for it every day.
01:50These flags are a reflection of that.
01:54Most Georgians want their country to join the EU.
02:00They believe this would allow more freedom and security, including from neighboring Russia, which attacked Georgia in 2008.
02:10But the government ended accession talks and has taken an authoritarian pro-Russian stance.
02:17Protests have been going on for months, and some of them are violently suppressed.
02:24Someone who takes part in the demonstrations regularly is Georgi Gikonishvili, the public relations rep for what is arguably Georgia's most famous club, the Bassiani.
02:33The biggest thing which is under question and which is under the street of losing is our freedom.
02:39We spend like 30 years in fighting for the free and democratic Georgia.
02:44If the government manages to have the fully consolidated authoritarianism, of course they will not need to have spaces like Bassiani in the country.
02:56The Bassiani is located in a former swimming pool beneath the enormous soccer stadium of the club Dynamo Tbilisi.
03:04It's considered one of the most in clubs worldwide, with some calling it the Berghain of Tbilisi.
03:11Internationally known DJs play here.
03:14The club has long supported LGBTQ rights, including a queer party series.
03:19And then when I started to go to Bassiani, I had a boyfriend then, and when we came here together actually, for the first time, we just felt so free that we started to like, of course, dance together, but also like, kissing and hugging each other together.
03:44I could not even imagine a thing like this happening years, years before that.
03:49It would always be a very dangerous thing to do.
03:53When the police upped the use of force against demonstrators at the end of 2024, the Bassiani closed in protest.
04:01Rather than holding the big New Year's bash at the club, the DJs did their thing in a pedestrian underpass close to the parliament, where the big demonstrations are held.
04:10The club's operator wanted the ravers to take their energy to the streets, rather than exhausting it on the dance floor.
04:17Mikvatsi closed then too, but now, all the clubs in Tbilisi are open again.
04:23We're trying to adapt to the new normal.
04:28At every event in the club, there is some element that encourages our guests to go to the demonstrations.
04:45The night in Tbilisi is still young, and dancing will continue until the early hours.
04:50Guests here recharge their energy for their fight for a better future.
