Editing Rustavi (section)

===Modern history===
Rustavi was rebuilt as a major industrial center during the Soviet era. The development of Rustavi was part of [[Joseph Stalin]]'s accelerated industrialization process, and included ironworks, steelworks, chemical plants and an important railway station on the [[Tbilisi]]–[[Baku]] railroad line. Rustavi is the site of approximately 90 large and medium-sized industrial plants.

[[File:Rustavi Metallurgical Plant.jpg|thumb|left|Head office of Rustavi Steel Works]]
[[File:Kostava Street, Rustavi (Photo A. Muhranoff, 2011).jpg|thumb|270px|Kostava Street, Rustavi]]
The core of the city's industrial activity was the [[Rustavi Steel|Rustavi Metallurgical Plant]], constructed in 1941–1950 to process [[iron ore]] from nearby [[Azerbaijan]]. Stalin brought workers from various regions in Georgia, specifically from the poorer rural provinces of Western Georgia. Rustavi became a key industrial center for the Transcaucasus region. The industrial activity expanded to include the manufacture of [[steel]] products, cement, chemicals, and synthetic fibers.

May 1944 was a significant time in the history of modern Rustavi. Geologists began to define the soil of the place where the metallurgical works were to be built. The area was nearly empty, and there were only temporary lodgings and slums available. Many people arrived at Rustavi, coming from different parts of Georgia. The first newspaper came out on 30 August 1944. It was called “Metallurgiisatvis” (meaning "For Metallurgy" in Georgian).

Rustavi celebrated frequent housewarming parties as many people migrated to the city each day. In 1948 the first streets were “baptized” in Rustavi. The first street was named after the [[Young Communist League]], the second, after the builders of Rustavi, and the third, after its ancient name Bostan-Kalaki.

On 19 January 1948, a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic declared Rustavi a town of republican importance. On 27 April 1950, the whole town celebrated the production of the first industrial Georgian steel. The theme of the celebration was dedicated to an ancient people whom are believed to have originally settled the area, known as the [[Khalib]]s.

[[File:Rustavi 17677 (14337607157).jpg|thumb|270px|Factories]]German [[POW]]s who were captured in [[World War II]] were enlisted to build the city of Rustavi. Modern Rustavi is divided into two parts—''Dzveli Rustavi'' (Old Rustavi) and ''Akhali Rustavi'' (New Rustavi). Old Rustavi adheres to Stalinist architectural style while New Rustavi is dominated by a multitude of Soviet-era block apartments. The [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]] in 1991 proved disastrous for Rustavi, as it also caused the collapse of the integrated Soviet economy of which the city was a key part. Most of its industrial plants were shut down and 65% of the city's population became unemployed, with the attendant social problems of high crime and acute poverty that such a situation brings. The population shrank from 160,000 in the mid-1990s to 116,000 in 2002 as residents moved elsewhere in search of work.

New York-based artist [[Greg Lindquist]] (b. 1979) has documented Rustavi's crumbling concrete factories in his paintings and installations, such as the exhibition "Nonpasts" in 2010. Lindquist has also worked with Georgian collaborators, such as artist Gio Sumbadze (b. 1976), in projects that address the current social, cultural and political significance of these architectures. In 2010, the Laura Palmer Foundation staged an exhibition at the Ministry of Transportation building ([[Tbilisi Roads Ministry Building]]) in which Lindquist and Sumbadze installed paintings addressing the history of Georgia's transportation system. This BOMB magazine [http://bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/4764 interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106121201/http://bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/4764 |date=2011-11-06 }} with La Toya Frazier for the exhibition "Planet of Slums" addresses many of the complexities of Lindquist's work in the Republic of Georgia.