Georgian bar under attack on social media after introduction of “visas” for Russians

Google removed negative reviews about the Georgian “Dedaena” bar, which introduced a kind of “visas” for Russian citizens: in order to visit the bar, they are expected to condemn the special military operation in Ukraine and recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia.

The website of the “Dedaena” bar in Tbilisi contains a questionnaire for Russian citizens who wants to visit the bar. To get a pass to the bar, a Russian citizen must indicate his or her last name, first name and e-mail, check the boxes condemning Russian President Putin’s actions and the special military operation in Ukraine, and also acknowledge that Abkhazia and South Ossetia are part of Georgia and are illegally occupied by Russia.

Negative feedback began to come immediately after the introduction of “visas,” reported user Beka Talakhadze on his Facebook* page on April 3.

“No entrance for Russians. If you don’t want to spoil your mood and face racial discrimination, then it is better to bypass this place. Nobody asks your political views, but if you are Russian, the entrance is closed for you,” wrote user MrDirthill, who gave a rating of “1”. “We weren’t allowed in, because we are Russians. Several times,” wrote user Alexander Zuev, who also gave a rating of “1”.

Today, it has become known that Google removed the negative reviews about the bar. “Google has cleaned up the reviews of trolls from the Russian Federation in the ‘Dedaena’ bar account,” the publication “Tbilisi Life” reports.

*On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 5, 2022 at 01:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.