It’s a world that photographerDavit Tabagaridiscovered during spring 2021 and that has fascinated him ever since.
In 1921, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed and then incorporated into the Soviet Union.
This includes an extensiveunderground cityand a system of tunnels.
Descending into these spaces is like going back in time.
Tabagari notes that these shelters were built during the Cold War for protection.
Each includes a generator and filtration for water, power, as well as systems to supply oxygen.
Some of the shelters are quite spacious.
Most of his discoveries, however, came from observation and from getting in contact with local diggers.
These diggers are adventurers who explore Tbilisi’s underground world and post their findings online.
Beria was the Communist party’s secretary in Georgia throughout much of the 1930s.
As Stalin’s most influential secret police chief, he wielded enormous power.
The project was so complex and required a lot of time, he tells My Modern Met.
Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is filled with underground Soviet-era structures and tunnels.
Photographer Davit Tabagari has documented some of the over 400 underground bunkers.
Many of these spaces show signs of their former life.
It’s believed that some areas were used as underground prisons under Stalin.
This underground city had generators, air filters, and communication systems.
