At the entrance to Chiatura’s main aerial tramway station stands a striking mosaic of Lenin and Stalin. It is made entirely from smooth river pebbles. Stalin’s connection to Chiatura dates back to his early revolutionary years. As a fugitive, he hid in the mines above the town. In the turmoil after the 1905 Russian Revolution, the young Stalin formed a group of revolutionaries in Chiatura.

After the Soviet Union seized control of Georgia in 1921, the authorities built a workers’ town to exploit Chiatura’s rich manganese deposits. At its peak, Chiatura supplied about 60 percent of the world’s manganese, making it a key industrial center of the USSR. Even today, the mine is active.

Kanatnaya Doroga

The town lies in a deep valley along the Qvirila River, surrounded by steep cliffs. To connect the different parts of Chiatura, a unique network of Soviet-era aerial tramways, or Kanatnaya Doroga was built. Tramway 25 became the first passenger cable car line in the Soviet Union. It began operating in 1954 and ran almost continuously for decades.

New system

Eventually, the old network of cable cars was dismantled and replaced by a modern, smaller system built in partnership with the French company Poma. Since 2021, both locals and tourists have been able to travel safely and comfortably using this eco-friendly rope way system. Out of the many industrial and urban ropeways that once criss-crossed the town, 24 were built exclusively for passengers. Today, only eight lines are still in operation, with four of them replaced by the new system.

Visit 2019

In 2019, I had the chance to travel old-school and in Soviet-style on line 25. The cabin, the original from the 1950s, was rusty and creaking. The views were amazing, but the safety was doubtful. A few months later, the line was closed for safety reasons.