Bali cracks down on influx of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing war, desecrating sacred sites

Balinese locals are fed up with thousands of ‘half naked’ foreigners invading their island and these nationalities are the top offenders.

After two years of the coronavirus pandemic Bali might have been grateful for the influx of thousands upon thousands of tourists but now the Indonesian island is looking at cracking down on its visas on arrival system.

The tropical island has become a magnet for those fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war with tens of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians seeking to escape the year-long bloodshed – but bringing problems with them.

According to CNN, almost 60,000 Russians visited Bali in 2022 following its post-Covid reopening, and 22,500 more arrived in January 2023, the Indonesian government reports.

Russians are now the second biggest group of foreigners after Australians.

Tourists ride a motorcycle without helmets at a main road in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia. Picture: Getty Images

And now their reputation as disrupters is provoking a backlash from locals.

The Bankok Post reports Russians were initially welcome until a series of scandals, desecrations and criminal behaviour attributed to the nationality: A Russian influencer posed naked near a sacred 700-year-old tree; a Russian teenager was caught vandalising a school; a Russian artist painted an anti-war mural on a private house; Russians driving around on motorcycles half naked and without helmets and causing collisions.

The Russian influencer, Alina Fazleeva, is facing six years’ imprisonment for posing naked with the banyan tree.

Russia's Alina Fazleeva, centre, and her husband Amdrei Fazleev, left, attend a press conference in Denpasar as they face deportation for taking nude photos on a sacred tree. Picture: AFP

“Whenever we get reports about a foreigner behaving badly, it’s almost always Russian,” a local police officer in Kuta told the news outlet.

“Foreigners come to Bali but they behave like they are above the law. This has always been the case and it has to finally stop,” he said, referring to the common occurrences of drunk and disorderly behaviour, and criminal offences, among foreign nationals, often Australians, visiting the island.

More than 7000 Ukrainians arrived in 2022, and another 2500 in January this year.

But the influx of both groups is causing backlash with local task forces calling for an end to the $33 visa on arrival system.

The visa is valid for 30 days but can be extended once to a total of 60 days.

Some Ukrainians leave and re-enter every 60 days to get around the visa restrictions.

A foreign tourist woman smiles as she take a photograph with a local at a street bar in Bali, Indonesia. Picture: Getty Images

CNN reports that the conflicts between Russians and Ukrainians are also reverberating on the Asian island, with Ukrainians saying the incidents of misdemeanours are being caused by Russians.

“Why these two countries? Because they are at war so they flock here,” Bali governor Wayan Koster told a news conference, CNN reported.

“We opened our doors, we opened our arms, and we welcomed them with a big smile,” Niluh Djelantik, the founder of a luxury shoe brand in Bali told the Bangkok Post.

“But our kindness has been taken for granted.”

Foreign tourists play chess at a bar in Canggu, Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Getty Images

Balinese authorities have now targeted Russians and Ukrainians as groups with dubious public conduct, who are also overstaying their visas and obtaining work illegally as taxi drivers, surf instructors, beauticians, and sex workers.

Some are buying up property and renting it out, and even starting their own businesses, which is a violation of local laws.

Al Jazeera reported there is backlash from angry locals worried that these groups will take their jobs.

A spokesman told local media a local task force had arrested six tourists, all of them Russian. All six – three sex workers, two motorbike driving instructors and a tennis coach – received deportation orders, according to Al Jazeera.

Bali has seen an influx of 60,000 Russian tourists with many overstaying their visas and seeking work. Picture: Getty Images

Indonesian authorities said several Russian tourists had been deported in recent months for overstaying their visas, some seeking illegal work, including a 28-year-old from Moscow who was arrested and deported after he was found to be working as a photographer.

Ukraine’s Honorary Consulate in Bali said Ukrainians in Bali were mostly women who had arrived to join family and that they did “not want to violate the rules and regulations.”

As for Russia, its conscription to join the fighting has driven many young men to flee abroad rather than be drafted.

A foreigner tourist is looking for a rental motorcycle in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. Picture: Getty Images

“Ukrainians respect Balinese law and culture. We do a lot for our local communities and don’t represent any risk for people in Bali … It’s very sad that Ukrainians are being put in the same (category) as Russians. Russians are the second largest tourist group in Bali and if you read the news, you’ll see how often it is Russians breaking local laws and disrespecting Balinese culture and traditions,” said a Ukrainian man CNN identified only as Dmytro.

“So why do Ukrainians have to suffer when it isn’t us causing problems in Bali?” he said of the looming crackdown.

The central government is yet to decide on whether to grant the request by the Balinese authorities to crackdown on war refugees.

“We will discuss it in detail with other stakeholders,” Indonesian Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno told local CNN.