ABC News (AU)
An influx of Russian visitors fleeing Vladimir Putin's war has changed the dynamic in Bali
Story by By Indonesia correspondent Anne Barker • 7h ago - 16-4-2023
When Russian influencer Luiza Kosykh draped herself among the roots of a 700-year-old tree in Bali, she claimed she was trying to be at "one with nature".
In some photos, she is covered in a white sheet, while in others she appears to be totally naked.
However, two years after she posted the pictures on Instagram, they went viral among Bali locals, reigniting a heated debate about the behaviour of foreign tourists on the Indonesian island.
The tree next to the ancient Babakan Temple in Bayan Village is considered to be holy by Balinese people.
However, the 40-year-old influencer — who was arrested on Wednesday — claims she was wearing underwear in the images, and a friend later edited them so that she appeared naked.
Immigration authorities say Ms Kosykh will be deported tonight, becoming the 59th Russian to be banished from the Indonesian island since last year.
A string of offensive incidents has fuelled a growing resentment towards Russian arrivals in Bali.
Only two weeks ago, Russian blogger Yuri Chilikin was deported after he dropped his trousers and flashed his naked buttocks on top of a Balinese volcano.
He later apologised and said he would never have recorded the video if he had known that Mt Agung was considered one of the holiest places in Bali for Hindus.
Badly behaved foreign tourists have always been a problem for Bali.
However, officials say, since reopening to international visitors a little over a year ago, locals have become fed up with an influx of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin's war causing trouble in paradise.
From public nudity and drunkenness, to more serious criminal behaviour, locals say the antics of some Russian visitors has reached such epic proportions that they have simply had enough.
Yesterday morning a Ukrainian man was also deported for working illegally as a photographer.
And last night more than 20 immigration officers swooped on a tourist village at Ubud, where many Russians and Ukrainians live or work online, checking to see that their visas and passports were in order. No arrests were made.
Bali's shifting mood
The tropical paradise has long been a favourite destination for Russians, but the sheer number of visitors now arriving in Bali appears to have changed the dynamic with locals.
Since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year, tourists from both Russia and Ukraine have sought refuge in places where they can still enter and obtain visas relatively easily.
In just five months to January this year, almost 80,000 Russians arrived in Bali, along with almost 9,000 Ukrainians.
Russians made up the second-largest group of foreign nationals in Bali last year, second only to Australians.
Before the pandemic started in 2020, Russians were not even in the top five nationalities that visited Bali.
Many Russian men are undoubtedly flocking to the island to escape the military draft to fight in Ukraine.
While Russians were initially welcomed by the famously friendly Balinese, tensions between locals and some visitors have soured.
Russian influencer Luiza Kosykh took the images several years ago, but they recently went viral on Balinese social media. (Instagram: Luiza Kosykh)
© Provided by ABC News (AU)
An influx of Russian visitors fleeing Vladimir Putin's war has changed the dynamic in Bali
Story by By Indonesia correspondent Anne Barker • 7h ago - 16-4-2023
When Russian influencer Luiza Kosykh draped herself among the roots of a 700-year-old tree in Bali, she claimed she was trying to be at "one with nature".
In some photos, she is covered in a white sheet, while in others she appears to be totally naked.
However, two years after she posted the pictures on Instagram, they went viral among Bali locals, reigniting a heated debate about the behaviour of foreign tourists on the Indonesian island.
The tree next to the ancient Babakan Temple in Bayan Village is considered to be holy by Balinese people.
However, the 40-year-old influencer — who was arrested on Wednesday — claims she was wearing underwear in the images, and a friend later edited them so that she appeared naked.
Immigration authorities say Ms Kosykh will be deported tonight, becoming the 59th Russian to be banished from the Indonesian island since last year.
A string of offensive incidents has fuelled a growing resentment towards Russian arrivals in Bali.
Only two weeks ago, Russian blogger Yuri Chilikin was deported after he dropped his trousers and flashed his naked buttocks on top of a Balinese volcano.
He later apologised and said he would never have recorded the video if he had known that Mt Agung was considered one of the holiest places in Bali for Hindus.
Badly behaved foreign tourists have always been a problem for Bali.
However, officials say, since reopening to international visitors a little over a year ago, locals have become fed up with an influx of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin's war causing trouble in paradise.
From public nudity and drunkenness, to more serious criminal behaviour, locals say the antics of some Russian visitors has reached such epic proportions that they have simply had enough.
Yesterday morning a Ukrainian man was also deported for working illegally as a photographer.
And last night more than 20 immigration officers swooped on a tourist village at Ubud, where many Russians and Ukrainians live or work online, checking to see that their visas and passports were in order. No arrests were made.
Bali's shifting mood
The tropical paradise has long been a favourite destination for Russians, but the sheer number of visitors now arriving in Bali appears to have changed the dynamic with locals.
Since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year, tourists from both Russia and Ukraine have sought refuge in places where they can still enter and obtain visas relatively easily.
In just five months to January this year, almost 80,000 Russians arrived in Bali, along with almost 9,000 Ukrainians.
Russians made up the second-largest group of foreign nationals in Bali last year, second only to Australians.
Before the pandemic started in 2020, Russians were not even in the top five nationalities that visited Bali.
Many Russian men are undoubtedly flocking to the island to escape the military draft to fight in Ukraine.
While Russians were initially welcomed by the famously friendly Balinese, tensions between locals and some visitors have soured.
Russian influencer Luiza Kosykh took the images several years ago, but they recently went viral on Balinese social media. (Instagram: Luiza Kosykh)
© Provided by ABC News (AU)
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