Day 8: Soviet Steam Trains and the Dark Criminal Underworld of Tbilisi

After a standard tourist day on Saturday, we decided to do something completely different on Sunday. If you are coming to Tbilisi on exchange, you will quickly realize this city has layers of intense history that you won't find in a standard guidebook.

We booked a city tour focusing on the criminal history of Tbilisi, but with a massive twist: our guide was a former foreign prisoner who lived through it. Along the way, he took us deep into the forgotten, industrial underbelly of the city.

Here is what it’s like to dive into the dark side of Tbilisi's history on your day off.

1. Inside the Grid: A Prisoner's View of the Underworld

This wasn’t a tour about ancient history—it was a raw, eye-opening look at the brutal gang eras of the late 20th century.

Our guide shared his personal experiences and broke down how wild the streets used to be. He told us stories about kids getting access to guns as early as 12 years old and the incredibly bloody gang wars that tore through the neighborhoods after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He explained how the Georgian criminal underworld (the famous "Thieves-in-Law") functioned almost like a dark corporate military, split into strict layers of Bosses, Generals, and Soldiers.

Hearing this directly from someone who spent time inside the system gave us a crazy new perspective on how much the city has transformed to become the safe place it is today.

2. Exploring Abandoned Soviet Infrastructure

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While we were on the tour, our guide took us off the beaten path into some incredible, gritty industrial sites that standard tourists never see:

• The Soviet Steam Train & Warehouse: We visited a massive, old warehouse where they used to repair trains back in the day. Sitting inside was an enormous Soviet-era steam locomotive. Apparently, it's one of only five remaining models of its kind left from the USSR. While this specific one is a non-working metal ghost, a few of the other four are actually still operational elsewhere!

• The Underground Water Factory: This was a mind-blowing engineering fact. We visited a water pumping factory that constantly sucks water directly out of the underground metro system. Our guide told us that the metro is built on massive underground springs—if these pumps stop working for just 30 minutes, the entire metro system would completely flood.

• Industrial Graffiti Art: The whole area around these old warehouses and industrial buildings was covered in incredible graffiti and street art. It gave the old Soviet concrete a super modern, creative vibe that we loved exploring.

3. Winding Down

We spent the rest of Sunday just casually walking around, processing all the heavy history and crazy engineering facts we had absorbed, and chilling out before the new week.

Student to Student Tip: Look for the alternative, industrial tours in Tbilisi! Seeing the contrast between the beautiful old churches and these raw, abandoned Soviet factories gives you a much truer picture of the city's complex past.