Moscow’s DIY Rabitza club closes after raid

A post shared by techno exhibitionism (@techno_exhibition) on Jul 17, 2017 at 10:24am PDT

Moscow’s Rabitza club, one of the DIY stars of the city’s homegrown clubbing scene, is closing following a police raid earlier this month.

On 6 August police raided the venue and used physical force against partygoers and staff. Eight members of staff, including club cofounder Ivan Radzievsky, were taken into custody.

Subsequent to the raid, Rabitza appealed for donations to go towards its fight to remain open via social media.

“We are compelled to defend ourselves and we ask for help from everyone who cares about the fate of the club,” the club’s 9 August Facebook statement read. “The collected funds will go towards court hearings [...].”

A new statement, released on Monday, informs fans that the club will cease to operate at its current location on Olkhovskaya Street.

“Given the current climate, and despite all the love that Rabitza was full of, we’ve decided to close the club at its current location. This decision was based on safety considerations: the current address can no longer guarantee safety for our guests at any events,” the club’s organisers wrote.

While planned events for the near future have been cancelled, the Rabitza team invite those lamenting the loss of their favourite space to attend a party dedicated to the Kiev labels Wicked Bass / Progressive Future at their ally club NII on 26 August, and expect to revive Rabitza in some form during the autumn.