‘Not funny’: Tensions high among locals and Russians in Bali

There has been an influx of Russians in Bali since the war – with an unofficial change to Google Maps infuriating locals.

Russian living in Bali during the war in Ukraine are to receive “special attention” from authorities.

Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno told local press recent incidents of serious crime on the wildly popular holiday island have been connected to foreigners from two countries - Russia and Ukraine.

“There must be special attention,” he said, as reported by The Bali Sun, even though he acknowledged the nationalities are not among the nations that make up the highest number of tourists.

The top foreign visitors to Bali are Australians.

There was an influx of Russians going to Bali in 2022 and early 2023 to escape the war. In 2022, almost 60,000 Russians arrived in Bali and in January 2023, there were 22,500 arrivals.

A screenshot was shared this month showing the popular resort village of Canggu had been unofficially labelled ‘New Москва’ – which is Moscow in Russian – on Google Maps.

It prompted anger from locals on social media, claiming if they are not careful “Russians will take over”.

“This has been happening since Covid. If the government doesn’t step in, we will all be saying goodbye to Bali,” one wrote.

“Please don’t normalise putting a joke like this,” another pleaded. “It’s not funny for us locals.”

But Mr Sandiaga Uno compared it to the naming of cultural areas in big cities across the world like ‘Koreatown’, ‘Little India’ and ‘Chinatown’.

“The emergence of the area name ‘New Moscow’ shows that foreign tourists are active and investing on the Island of the Gods,” he said, as reported by nusabali.com.

“We want to ensure that all of this has a positive economic impact and maintains national interests.”

Canggu labelled New Moscow on Google Maps. Picture: Instagram / canggubalinews

It’s not the first time attention has been drawn to the misbehaviour of Russian tourists in Bali.

In March last year, Bali Governor Wayan Koster said he was asking the central government to stop Russian and Ukrainian tourists from being allowed to get a visa on arrival in the country.

That did not come to fruition.

“There are many visa violations, like tourists who take jobs, economic crimes, overstays,” Mr Koster told the Wall Street Journal at the time, speaking of Ukrainian and Russian visitors.

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