Rustavi is the Soviet Union's clearest surviving example of an ideological monotown in Georgia — built from nothing in the 1940s around its Metallurgical Plant, with 5,000 young workers mobilised from across the country and eventually 15,000 employed at peak. The derelict ancillary infrastructure surrounding the still-operating main plant — the Toila pool mosaic, the former battery plant and the IDP-occupied technical college auditorium — make it one of Georgia's finest day-trip urbex destinations from Tbilisi. Discover the 5 best abandoned places in Rustavi, from our Georgia Urbex Map — 100+ verified GPS locations.
Why Rustavi Is the Perfect Soviet Monotown Urbex Day Trip from Tbilisi
Rustavi is 25 minutes from Tbilisi by metro and marshrutka — the most accessible Soviet industrial monotown in Georgia. The combination of the still-operating steel plant (visible from outside), the derelict ancillary industrial buildings and the Soviet residential architecture created for 15,000 workers makes Rustavi an unmissable urbex day trip from the capital.
1. Rustavi Soviet Swimming Pool – Rustavi — Olympic Pool with Spectacular Soviet Mosaic, "Toila" Complex, Soviet Public Leisure Architecture, Rustavi Monotown Setting (Known Location)
Next door to the museum, there is an indoor pool complex that sports one of Rustavi's finest Soviet-era mosaics, named Toila ("seagull"). My various mosaic expeditions around Georgia have taught me that indoor pools often have the best large-scale mosaics of all. Rustavi's Toila swimming pool complex contains one of the most spectacular Soviet mosaics in the Tbilisi metropolitan area — a large-scale figurative panel representing the Soviet tradition of combining functional infrastructure with monumental public art. The pool complex is in a state of partial activity and dereliction — a specifically Rustavi urbex experience of Soviet public leisure architecture in transition.
🔗 Sources: WanderLush – 12 Things to Do in Rustavi | Obsidian Urbex Photography – Georgia
2. Former Battery Plant – Rustavi Industrial Zone — Soviet Ancillary Factory, Derelict Post-Industrial, Chemical or Industrial Heritage, Rustavi Monotown Context (Known Location)
Tires in the factory town of Rustavi and a canister of liquid in a former battery plant — relics of Soviet industrial Georgia's complex heritage. Rustavi's former battery plant — one of the Soviet ancillary industrial facilities built alongside the main metallurgical complex to supply the monotown's needs — stands in a state of post-Soviet dereliction: the industrial floor with its concrete drainage channels, the chemical storage infrastructure and the Soviet industrial architecture of a facility that served 15,000 steelworkers and their families. The monotown context makes every derelict building in Rustavi specifically Soviet in its historical dimension. All GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Soviet Abandoned Buildings in Georgia →
3. IDP-Occupied Former Technical College – Rustavi — Soviet PTU, IDPs from Abkhazia and Ossetia, Derelict Auditorium Below, Occupied Dormitories Above, Brutalist Architecture
The Industrial Technical College is long gone, but its legacy remains — the attached buildings (former dormitories and classrooms) are occupied by IDPs (internationally displaced persons) from nearby conflicts: Chechens, Abkhazians, and Ossetians are the most common. The area underneath the auditorium is vacant and open for exploring for the urbex-inclined, but do take note that people do live there. This building represents the most specifically Georgian urbex typology — the Soviet educational institution that became an IDP emergency shelter and is now simultaneously occupied and derelict. Always be respectful. All GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
4. Soviet Monotown Residential Block – Rustavi — 1940s–50s Workers' Housing, Built for Mobilised Steel Workers, Stalinist Architecture, Partially Abandoned (Hidden on Our Map)
Rustavi's residential architecture — built rapidly in the 1940s–50s to house the mobilised young workers who kickstarted the steel plant — spans Stalinist neoclassical and early Soviet functionalism. Several blocks from the original 1940s construction phase stand in states of partial abandonment: the Stalinist decorative detail (cornices, pilasters, ornamental ironwork) on the facade while the interiors have been vacated and left empty as the Rustavi population declined from its Soviet peak. The monotown residential block dereliction is a specifically 1950s Soviet typology. GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
5. Soviet Cultural Building – Rustavi — Dom Kultury or Cinema, Stalinist or Brutalist Architecture, Soviet Workers' Cultural Life, Rustavi Monotown Setting (On Our Map Only)
Rustavi's Soviet cultural infrastructure — the Dom Kultury (Culture House), the cinema and the workers' club built to serve the 15,000 steelworkers and their families — survives in various states of dereliction across the monotown. Several of these Soviet cultural buildings retain their assembly halls, their projection rooms or their stage infrastructure in states of post-Soviet abandonment: the folding cinema seats still in rows, the projection equipment still in the booth and the Soviet-era decorative tile work still on the foyer walls. GPS in our Georgia Urbex Map.
Safety Tips
- Battery plant chemical risk: Rustavi's former chemical and battery facilities may have soil contamination — always wear gloves, never disturb the ground surface near chemical processing areas and wear an FFP2 mask in enclosed spaces
- IDP technical college: residents live in this building — always be respectful; approach the vacant lower sections only and never enter the occupied residential floors
- Active steel plant proximity: the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant is still operational private property with active security — document the exterior from public roads only; never attempt to enter the active factory
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person; Rustavi emergency: 112
❓ FAQ
Are there abandoned places in Rustavi?
Yes — Rustavi's Soviet monotown heritage includes the Toila swimming pool with its spectacular mosaic, the former battery plant, the IDP-occupied technical college auditorium, partially abandoned 1940s workers' housing blocks and derelict Soviet cultural buildings. All within a 25-minute journey from Tbilisi by metro and marshrutka.
How do I get to Rustavi from Tbilisi?
Metro to Isani (Line 1, eastern terminus) then marshrutka to Rustavi — approximately 25 minutes total. Or by direct marshrutka from the Isani or Samgori metro stations. Rustavi is the perfect half-day urbex day trip from Tbilisi — combine with the Soviet architecture tour of Tbilisi itself for a full Soviet Georgia day.
Georgia Urbex Map
- ✓ 100+ verified GPS locations across Georgia
- ✓ Rustavi: pool mosaic, battery plant, IDP college, housing, cinema
- ✓ Instant download after purchase
- ✓ Free updates forever
9,99€
Explore All 100+ Locations →
