Anaklia Gearing Up for ‘Rave Republic’

After Russia’s annexation of Crimea, organizers of annual electronic music party KaZantip decided to move the event, first launched on the peninsula two decades ago, to Anaklia on Georgia’s Black Sea coast. The Georgian Orthodox Church condemned bringing of this rave fest into Georgia and warned that participation in and supporting this “mass orgy” and “large-scale depravity” would cause “grave consequences.” But many locals in Anaklia and surrounding areas, who see source of income in thousands of revelers expected to visit the site during the fest on August 20-30, worry less about Church’s warning and are busy with constructing or refurbishing lodgings for visitors.