Drobyshevsky's words about Georgia's Soviet past led to the cancellation of his speech in Tbilisi.

Lectures by Russian anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky in Tbilisi were canceled after users drew attention to his words that all of Georgia was built during the Soviet era. Some social media users pointed out that Tbilisi has many temples and public buildings from the pre-Soviet era, while others believed that Drobyshevsky was referring to residential and social construction.

Lectures by Russian anthropologist Drobyshevsky were canceled in Tbilisi due to his words about Georgia.

The announcement was published by the Tbilisi book bar Auditoria. The reason was his public statements about the history and current state of Georgia, writes "News Georgia".

Everything was built during the Soviet era. Since then, everything is falling apart, everything is spat on, painted over, everything is in complete disarray.

After the announcement of the events, social media users drew attention to a video in which the scholar discusses the history of Georgia and Tbilisi: Drobyshevsky claimed that "all of Georgia was built during the Soviet era."

"Before that, there were stone huts with sheep. Everything was built during the Soviet era. Since then, everything is falling apart, everything is spat on, painted over, everything is in complete disarray. But at least it's free as hell," the anthropologist stated in a video published about 5 months ago on the YouTube channel "Thought Trends."

In a statement, Auditoria said that they disagree with Drobyshevsky and consider his words superficial and disrespectful to the history and culture of the country. It was also noted that to clarify positions, Drobyshevsky was offered to conduct an interview with a Russian-language publication in Georgia, but it was not possible to organize it, writes Paprer Kartuli.

The cancellation of scheduled performances does not mean that we are calling for people to boycott Stanislav Drobyshevsky or demanding similar actions from other organizers.

"We understand that the topic of the planned lectures is not related to these statements. However, by inviting a public intellectual, we provide a platform not only for a specialist in a specific scientific field but also for a person with public authority. And although we are not obliged to share all the views of our lecturers, in this case, we believe that holding performances with our support would contradict the responsibility we bear to our listeners and the society of which Tbilisi's 'Auditorium' is a part," the publication on the book bar's social media page states.

At the same time, the book bar opposes the boycott or harassment of Drobyshevsky. "We oppose the persecution of a person and attempts to ignore his professional merits due to publicly made statements. The cancellation of scheduled performances does not mean that we are calling for people to boycott Stanislav Drobyshevsky or demanding similar actions from other organizers. This is our independent decision made out of respect for the country in which we live and work, as well as considering the responsibility we have taken on before our listeners," the message states.

The Auditoria team emphasized that they categorically disagree with Drobyshevsky's statements, calling them "superficial and disrespectful to the history and culture of Georgia."

Drobyshevsky's statements sparked controversy online.

In particular, historian Tamara Eidelman criticized Drobyshevsky's words about the construction in Georgia.

"Where did Drobyshevsky walk, what did he see there? The Sioni Cathedral in the center of Tbilisi is believed to have been there since the sixth century. It's not far from Tbilisi to Mtskheta, and you can see Svetitskhoveli - an amazing great medieval church. Mr. Drobyshevsky probably didn't have time for that either. What about the House of Writers, which once belonged to David Sarajishvili - a remarkable entrepreneur, philanthropist? An amazing house of the modern era, built in the early 20th century. If Mr. Drobyshevsky had entered the House of Writers, they might have even shown him the room where the remarkable poet Paolo Yashvili shot himself in 1937, who did not want to repent, condemn his friends, and could not wait for the expected arrest. This is Tbilisi under Soviet power," she says in a video published on her YouTube channel about five months ago.

In her opinion, a person who says that Georgia was built under Soviet power is saying what the Russian authorities want to hear today. "When a scholar starts lying to please the authorities, he very quickly stops being a scholar," she concluded.

In Stanislav Drobyshevsky's Telegram channel, there is no reaction to the cancellation of lectures in Tbilisi or to Eidelman's words.

A user BigDayFor on Eidelman's YouTube channel provided statistical data without citing a source.

In the historical and geographical center of Tbilisi, there are significantly more buildings from the pre-Soviet period than buildings from the Soviet era. If we consider Tbilisi as a whole, not just the center: Pre-Soviet buildings: about 20,000 buildings. Soviet buildings: more than 150,000 buildings. Modern houses and new buildings: more than 65,000. Taking into account the time interval of the USSR and after, the current pace is very similar on average to that during the USSR, both in terms of the number of buildings and the number of apartments. In addition to housing, it was during the Soviet period that the main administrative dominants were erected - the Parliament building (former House of Government), Sakartvelos Bank (former Ministry of Motor Roads of the GSSR), Tbilisi State University, as well as the launch of the metro," he wrote.

"Well, he probably meant not three monuments, but the overall residential construction," thinks TheMibood.

"Residential, in this case?" added MariaDanilova-э8ф.

"What about hospitals, schools, administrative buildings, factories, enterprises, and other things that turn a village into a city?" writes KlerickGrammaton.

Eidelman's opinion was supported in particular by Muravei_artist.

"I live in the center of Tbilisi in a house from the early 19th century. <...> This does not mean that there are no Soviet buildings in Tbilisi. There are many. But the statement that all of Georgia was built under the Soviets can be perceived as an insult and a lie," he wrote.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that on September 12, it became known that the organizers of Zion Fest 2026 in Tbilisi banned citizens of Russia from attending the festival. However, later the organizers stated that Russians would be allowed to attend the Zion Festival in Tbilisi on the condition that they recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia, the Russian occupation of Georgian territories, and condemn Russia's actions towards Georgia.

* included by the Ministry of Justice of Russia in the register of foreign agents.

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