Jun 28, 2021

Neo-Nazis Attack Punk Festival in Tbilisi

Hippodrome, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2021

It should have just been a fun afternoon in Tbilisi’s old Hippodrome, but the planned punk festival, the first in ages because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, took a violent turn when a group of neo-Nazis decided to disrupt it apparently because of one track, გერჩი – ყარს (Georgien über allen), by Georgian punk band, Gerchi. A month ago, at one of their rehearsals, the band told me that something might happen as Georgian neo-Nazis were apparently being encouraged on a white supremacist forum to do something by their American counterparts. And that’s precisely what happened.

The neo-Nazis, of course, were outnumbered by the number of young Georgian punk fans in attendance and quickly seen off, but not before unconfirmed reports of some kind of gun being fired by one of them. Police arrived quickly and went in hot pursuit, detaining and handcuffing a few. Sadly, there were minors among them.

Hippodrome, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2021

Neo-Nazi groups have been increasingly visible in Tbilisi since at least 2015 and are just one part of a far-right ecosystem that also includes more traditional and conservative political groups. It was therefore encouraging to see so many Georgian media outlets cover the attack and approach me for permission to use the video and photo materials I shot of the incident.

These included Formula TV, Netgazeti, Radio Free Europe, and Voice of America. Formula also broadcast a 15-minute TV report which can be viewed here. Below is some of my footage shot on an iPhone used by VOA.

Hippodrome, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2021

As for the punk festival, it eventually resumed and it appeared as though the neo-Nazi attack had given both the bands and audience even greater energy.

For more on the far-right and neo-Nazis in Georgia, including those responsible for the 2018 murder of Yezidi-Jewish human rights defender Vitali Safarov, see my August 2019 article, Georgia’s Far-Right Problem.

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Earlier this month, Tbilisi celebrated Tbilisoba, the city’s annual harvest festival. Over the years it has changed significantly and seems smaller than before. I first covered the event in 2011 but the best so far remains 2014 when there was more representation of traditional Georgian folk dance and music as well as by ethnic minorities such as the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities. This year, that was held relatively far away from Tbilisi’s Old Town and Rike Park with very little publicity or in some media any at all. Nonetheless, those that attended appeared to enjoy themselves sufficiently and I managed to photo stories.

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Last month, Armenia arrested several individuals accused of recruiting others to stage a coup in the country. The group has a history of recruiting Armenian citizens as foreign fighters in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Armenian government faces a potential vulnerability from militant groups as progress occurs in the normalization process with Azerbaijan following the 2020 44-day war and recent conflict in Karabakh, fueling discontent among many Armenians.

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