On January 30, 2017, a fire broke out in the “Children’s World” shopping center, completely destroying the building. The fire affected more than a thousand vendors.

On February 21, three affected women set up tents in front of the burned building and began a hunger strike. Starting from March 15, more vendors joined them in openly expressing their protest and organizing demonstrations. They demanded official recognition as victims of the fire. Some went to the Government Administration, asking to meet with the Prime Minister, while others stayed in front of the ruins of “Children’s World,” continuing their hunger strike. One of the banners read, “They burned Children’s World,” as they believed the fire was not accidental.

On March 27, the victims gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy, appealing to Ambassador Ian Kelly to mediate with the Georgian government. They rejected the government’s offer of a one-time 3,000 GEL compensation and demanded that the amount be increased to 5,000 GEL. They also asked for a one-year delay in bank loan repayments.

The vendors organized protests wherever they believed decision-makers were present. On May 25, they demonstrated near Bidzina Ivanishvili’s business center, and on July 19, in front of the Georgian Dream party headquarters.

On July 27, the director of JSC “Children’s World Trading House,” Giorgi Machavariani, was arrested for violating fire safety regulations, while the head of the internal security department, Mikheil Tevzadze, was charged with official negligence.

The following day, on July 28, two protests were held near the Prosecutor General’s Office: shareholders and administrative representatives of the “Children’s World” company protested Machavariani’s arrest, while, a few meters away, the tenants demanded his prosecution and compensation for damages.

On July 29, both detainees were released on bail.

As the Prosecutor’s Office failed to provide investigative results, the vendors continued their protests. On November 14, they gathered again outside the Prosecutor General’s Office, demanding the resignation of Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze and the prosecution of senior shareholders, executives, and security staff of “Children’s World.” The vendors accused Shotadze of deliberately delaying the investigation to protect those responsible and did not rule out the possible involvement of government officials in the fire.

The protesters set up tents outside the Prosecutor’s Office. When the police ordered them to remove the tents, a confrontation ensued. During the altercation, one woman inside a tent fainted, and emergency medical assistance was called.

The protests eventually ended without results, and Shotadze did not resign.

By October 10, 2018, the investigation was still incomplete. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, out of 849 people questioned, 695 were granted official victim status.

The last reported protest by fire victims took place on June 14, 2018, in front of the Georgian Dream headquarters, coinciding with a ruling party meeting. Like before, the protest failed to attract attention from the authorities.

After months of demonstrations, the Tbilisi City Council allocated 3,000 GEL in compensation to more than 1,000 affected vendors, although their total damages exceeded 18 million GEL. Many others were still waiting for compensation. This inequality caused a rift among the victims. One group blamed government officials and the company’s leadership, linking the incident to Bidzina Ivanishvili’s interests. The other group, consisting of shareholders and their supporters, argued that if the company was recognized as the official victim, the insurance company would have to pay out 6 million GEL, enabling them to rebuild and continue operations.

However, the shareholders were not recognized as victims and therefore received no compensation.

An expert examination concluded that the fire was deliberately set: “The cause of the fire was the contact of an external flame source with petroleum products and combustible materials, or the use of special incendiary agents.” The identity of the perpetrator remained unknown.

On May 1, 2025, On.ge reported that a new four-story shopping center project was approved on the site of “Children’s World,” covering approximately 12,000 square meters.