A Building as a Bearer of History: The Story of Hotel Iveria

 

 The ‘Iveria’ building was a popular luxury hotel in Georgia during the Soviet regime. It was built in 1967 and hosted all international guests, including officials from neighboring countries. Standing in the center of the capital, it was the highest building in Tbilisi and could be seen from different angles of the city. The building soon became a focus of interest for those curious about soviet architecture and aesthetics.

As the hotel Iveria was located in the geographical center of Tbilisi, the building and its inhabitants witnessed many historical events occurring in the capital during the 80s and 90s. One of the turning points was the anti-USSR demonstrations and protests in Georgia, many of which were held on the Republic Square in front of the hotel Iveria.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Georgia slowly transmitted into a post-socialist era. The hotel Iveria now became a reflection of soviet memories. In the meantime, the 1992-1993 war between Georgians and Abkhazians escalated, resulting in the forced displacement of Georgians from their homes in Abkhazia. The forcibly displaced were given temporary shelters in different hotels, camps, blocks of houses and public schools across Georgia.

The famous hotel Iveria was among the building used as a shelter for the Georgian exiles. The building soon adapted to the needs of the people living in it. The façade of the hotel reflected the process of temporary homemaking by forcibly displaced Georgians. The building, now functionally and visually modified, displayed hard social and economic conditions of its new residents.

The history of the building stepped into a new phase after president Saakashvili’s privatization project, aimed at attracting investors and turning hotel Iveria from the state into private property. In 2004, the forcibly displaced Georgians were moved from the building due to its renovation into a new five-star hotel. Constructed on the skeleton of the soviet Iveria, Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel was reopened in 2009. Nowadays, the new luxury hotel continues hosting tourists and international guests.

The photographs narrate the story of a building that bears layers of complex history and social change involving the turbulent transition of the country from the communist regime to a new capitalist order, accompanied by the ethnopolitical war and forced migration. Interestingly, the building was changing along with its residents. These changes can be seen not only in its exterior façade but also in its function – once serving as a luxury hotel for international officials, the hotel later turned into a shelter for exiles with harsh economic conditions. Years later, the building recovered its initial function, yet it isn’t the same soviet hotel standing in the communist country. Now it is a privatized hotel, symbolizing the transmission from the Soviet era to an undefined capitalist regime, the period when ‘public’ became ‘private.’ Some of the photos belong to photographers interested in soviet architecture and style. Some are taken by the social researchers studying post-soviet spaces. The last photo is taken by the hotel administration for the promotion of the hotel on its official website. Thus, the observes of the building have been changing over time as well – from academic and artistic purposes to commercial uses. Looking at the building from different perspectives and periods allows us to understand its context and development in retrospect. Without these photographs, it would be easier for the stories and memories of people (both living in it and witnessing it from afar) to fade away.