A gala performance by students from GITIS (the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts) was held at the Rustaveli Theatre in Tbilisi as part of the “Victory 81” project.
The concert took place on May 14 and was dedicated to the 81st anniversary of the victory in World War II; the program included “Katyusha” and other wartime songs.
The Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Georgia noted that “the sacred poetic memories of the heroic pages of our shared history, of the Great Patriotic War, will forever remain in the hearts of the peoples of Russia and Georgia.”
Commenting on the decision to rent the space to Russian students, Rustaveli Theatre Director Gia Tevzadze told the TV Pirveli channel that the theatre received the “maximum amount” for the booking, and if a similar offer were made again, the hall would be rented out once more “for the money.”
Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zourabichvili, sharply criticized the event.
“While Georgian actors are granted neither space nor a stage, and certainly no opportunity to ‘rent’ the Rustaveli Theatre! Is everything really for sale?” Zourabichvili wrote.