Dedaena Bar received hundreds of threats and negative reviews
Tbilisi’s Dedaena Bar was the subject of a massive cyber attack last week after the club launched a “Russian visa form” on its website in an attempt to deter Putin supporters from entering the premises, as RA reports.

“Citizens of Russia need a visa to enter the Dedaena Bar because not all Russians are welcome,” the visa form reads. “We stand for equality and unity, but we have to make sure that brainwashed Russian imperialists don’t end up in our bar.”

“Please support us by filling out a visa application, so no one has to hang out next to assholes. Thank you for the understanding,” the text notes. About 2,000 Russians have filled out the form.

After the release of the form, the Tblisi-based club was the victim of a wave of hatred on the Internet, which began on August 4. According to RA, the club faced thousands of negative reviews on the Internet and threats through private messages and comments on Instagram.

The visa form was published on the local’s website at the beginning of August and it asked Russian citizens to check certain boxes related to them. Political opinions range from: “I did not vote for Putin, he is a dictator,” to: “20% of Georgia is occupied by Russia.”

Speaking to RA, Lapauri said: “Everyone is welcome in our bar, our whole policy is one of inclusion. Our staff is from diverse backgrounds. We wouldn’t say ‘if you’re Russian, you can’t be here’.

“But we really need to know that the people coming to the bar are not supporting the imperialist mentality of Putin’s supporters, so we created this form,” he said.

“We are just a music venue for people to hang out, connect, have fun, and suddenly we are attacked by these trolls who see us as the enemy and threaten to bomb our bar. It’s totally surreal and unbelievable for us.”