SOVIET OCCUPATION TOUR
Georgia’s Soviet past and the complicated road to the present
⚠This is not a typical sightseeing tour. It is a story-driven historical experience focused on discussion, analysis, and challenging common myths about Soviet life through Georgia’s experience.
Please read the full description before booking to make sure this tour matches your interests ↓↓↓
On the Soviet Tour of Tbilisi, we discuss:
- Georgia’s independence in 1918, the Red Army invasion, and Soviet annexation
- Occupation, repression, censorship, resistance, and loss of freedom under Soviet rule
- The Underground Printing House and revolutionary movements
- Stalin’s Georgian origins and how he is remembered in Georgia
- Everyday life, ideology, propaganda, and censorship in Soviet Georgia
- Common myths and nostalgic narratives about the Soviet Union
- Georgia’s national movement and the collapse of the USSR
- The political, social, and economic crisis of the 1990s
- Russia’s occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia)
- The Rose Revolution and Georgia’s path to the present
- Post-Soviet Georgia and relations with Russia today
- The Underground Printing House Museum – interior visit
- Tbilisi Metro – we travel by metro and discuss its Soviet history
- Freedom Square (formerly Lenin Square) – exterior visit
- Former Theological Seminary (where Stalin studied) – exterior visit
Tour requires booking at least 24 hours in advance
Not included: Metro ticket – 1 GEL
SOVIET TOUR OF TBILISI – TOUR DESCRIPTION
Our Soviet Tour of Tbilisi explores Georgia’s Soviet and post-Soviet history through historical context, local Georgian voices, and personal experiences.
You will learn about major events and turning points, but this is more than a standard history lesson. Instead, the tour combines historical context with collective memory, personal and family stories, public debate, and open discussion.
Along the way, we look at the Soviet occupation, political repression, censorship, persecution, and the severe restrictions on political and personal freedoms that shaped life in Soviet Georgia. In addition, we explore some common myths and nostalgic narratives about the Soviet Union through Georgia’s own Soviet and post-Soviet experience.
The tour also presents how many Georgians understand the Soviet occupation, Stalin, the collapse of the USSR, the difficult 1990s, and Georgia’s relationship with its Soviet past today.
Soviet history is complex, and the historical record is not always complete. For example, some documents were censored, classified, destroyed, or shaped by propaganda. Whenever a question remains disputed, we distinguish between established information, interpretation, and local memory.
At the same time, our goal is not only to explain what happened but also to help you understand how these events affected Georgian society, identity, politics, and everyday life.
The Soviet Tour of Tbilisi is designed for curious travelers who want more than monuments and dates. You will hear perspectives and stories that are often absent from traditional sightseeing tours, guidebooks, and short online articles.
Finally, we do not only ask what happened. We also explore how these events are remembered and understood by Georgians today. For a broader introduction to the city, you can also explore our Tbilisi walking tours.
Meeting Point: Inside 300 Aragveli Metro Station, next to the Dunkin Donuts booth
BOOKING FORM
ATTENTION
After booking make sure you got
the Confirmation Email
MEETING POINT ON THE MAP
+995 558 13 14 15 
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