Lectures by a Russian anthropologist were canceled in Tbilisi over his comments about Georgia
Kyiv • UNN
Tbilisi's Auditoria canceled appearances by Russian anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky over his critical statements about Georgia. The organizers called them disrespectful.
The Tbilisi book bar Auditoria announced the cancellation of the planned appearances by Russian paleoanthropologist and popular science communicator Stanislav Drobyshevsky. The reason was his public statements about Georgia’s history and current state, UNN reports, citing "News of Georgia."
After the events were announced, social media users drew attention to a video in which the scientist reflects on the history of Georgia and Tbilisi: Drobyshevsky claimed that "all of Georgia was built during the Soviet era."
"Before that, there were stone huts with sheep. Everything was built during the Soviet era. Since then, everything has been falling apart, everything is spat on, covered in graffiti, everything is a complete dump. But at least it’s damn free," the anthropologist said in the video.
The Auditoria team emphasized that it categorically disagreed with Drobyshevsky’s statements, calling them "superficial and disrespectful toward Georgia’s history and culture."
The organizers contacted the scientist’s representative and proposed arranging an interview with one of Georgia’s Russian-language media outlets so that he could elaborate on or clarify his position, but the conversation never took place.
The venue acknowledged that the topics of the anthropologist’s planned lectures were not related to the controversial statements. However, the organizers concluded that holding the appearances was incompatible with their responsibility toward the local community and audience.
"By providing a venue for a public intellectual, we invite not only a specialist in a particular scientific field, but also a person who has public authority. Professional achievements do not make a person an expert on all issues, while scientific authority entails responsibility for one’s public statements," Auditoria said.
At the same time, they added that they oppose harassment: the cancellation of the lectures is their own decision, made out of respect for the country where they live and work, and they are not calling for a boycott of the scientist at other venues.