‘Russian-only’ businesses in Thailand’s Phuket spark backlash

[JBChiangRai]

20 minutes ago, SuperSaiyan said:

I have domains as well! Google.com is always a good one.

 

Anyway, I tried to find such a statistic you mentioned and there is none.

The Thaiger gives figures from the top (Russia) down to 11 times smaller, Ukraine is not even on the list.

 

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/international-tourism-2022-11-5-million-foreign-arrivals

[bbko]

I always laugh a little bit when foreigners in Thailand complain about there being too many other foreigners in Thailand, saying "they should go home"...555

[geisha]

2 hours ago, sikishrory said:

Oh they just noticed this?

No, it’s been a problem for a good few years before Covid.  Taking Kata Phuket as an example, Thais burnt down the awnings of Russian run/ owned businesses.  Spent 3 months in 2022 in Kata where I lived for many years and have lots of Thai friends with business and normal working people.  The Russians have bought up all the cheaper condos !  They have their own taxi service ,  hairdressers, restaurants, and even massage shops are Thai run, but Russian owned.  Add to that the internet /bitcoin , workers / nomads. Sure, maybe the Thais didn’t complain much during /after Covid, as they were broke and bankrupt. I saw a few of my elderly neighbours forced to beg for money for food, there was a queue outside the Club Med with their bowls every morning. The authorities did bugger all, most food etc was provided by expats / foreigners who organized themselves through supermarket donations mostly stationed in Rawai and then handed out where needed. It was dire, so any foreigners arriving after Covid were welcome.

Nowadays it’s ridiculous, Russians here Russians there ….. The beaches are crowded with their picnicking, the restaurants over run with their families , you go to a supermarket you’re pushed out the way. They are sullen and unfriendly, mostly downright ignorant and impolite. 
Not that Pattaya doesn’t have the same problems, especially Jomtien. They work openly around Jomtien nightmarket, and that huge condo complex with restaurants/ laundries/ agencies ground floor. I cut through there from second road often after going to the German delicatessen to eat or shop. Ive seen Russians waiting on tables etc. As for the gogo bars with extras, the Russian girls have been there for over 15 years if I remember right. One of my Phuket neighbors was a regular client, and what about walking street Pattaya ?? All this brings Thailand down another notch again. 

[wombat]

Opening a Consulate says it all.

Maybe they can annex the island?

[Bradley81]

What a load of absolute BS. According to Aljazeera AKA the Jew hating network, Phuket locals are angry that Russians are investing 100's of millions of dollars in the Phuket economy especially real estate. Russians are escaping the war? The war is in Ukraine not Russia. Full scale invasion? The people investing the money are well off citizens not the the poor bastards who get conscripted into the army. If your idea of what is happening in the war coincides with CNN Aljazeera BBC Forbes headlines you should seriously rethink your reality and your place in it.

[Kiwiken]

6 hours ago, ChipButty said:

It's like little Moscow down in Rawai 

Russian language, Russian only stores. Perhaps Putin will order annexation and referendum to join Mother Russia

[ChipButty]

I don't mind the Russians I get on ok with them and over the years we have had lots of Russian guests, I could think of other nationalities who have been worse than Russians,

One thing I do notice they don't complain they just get on with it, since the start of the war we have had a few Russians all of them have been great, 

2 couples left Russia and were living in Turkey, one couple left us to go back to Turkey pick up his car and drive to Spain and then go to Argentina, his wife was pregnant not only the baby can get citizenship the parent do,

The ones I have spoke to here want the war to stop, one woman her mother was Ukrainian she was worried the world will hate Russians, they were a nice couple, 

[Iamloki]

"Too many Russians in Phuket"... I'd say too many Russians in Ukraine and  just look at all the damage the Russian "tourist" are causing there... Count your blessings Phuket - it will get worse.

[Iamloki]

2 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

she was worried the world will hate Russians

I think she is right.

[ChipButty]

The Largest Beachfront village in Southern Phuket already coming up out of the ground Im told Russians so you better get used to them, 

 

 

[Al BB]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Locals complain about the large number of Russians fleeing the fallout of the war in Ukraine, claiming they are stealing Thai jobs.

Bangkok, Thailand – A huge influx of Russians in Phuket is producing a backlash from locals, amid complaints of a booming Russian-only economy that covers everything from hair salons to taxi firms.

 

More than 400,000 Russians arrived on the Thai tourist island between January and July this year, according to authorities, double the number of visitors before Russia’s war against Ukraine.

 

Many later secured long stay-visas, buying properties and establishing businesses to escape economic turmoil and the possibility of being conscripted following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 

In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Phuket to inaugurate a new consulate to handle the surging number of citizens seeking work and leisure on the island.

 

The growing Russian presence is bringing rapid change.

 

Property prices have surged, which, although a boon to Thai owners and realtors, has made it more difficult for renters to find an affordable place on the island.

 

Russian-only businesses have sprung up, often run through Russian language apps and staffed by people working illegally.

 

There have also been reports of Russian sex workers operating along the nightlife epicentre of Bangla Road, mainly for Russian clientele.

 

By Vijitra Duangdee

TOP: Many Russians come to Phuket to escape economic turmoil and the possibility of being conscripted after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine [File: Jorge Silva/Reuters]

 

Full story: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/9/6/russian-only-businesses-in-thailands-phuket-spark-backlash

 

-- AL JAZEERA 2023-09-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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 Aeroflot have announced more flights DIRECT to Phuket as well as an increase to BKK. Was this Labrov's mission in July, as well as the " New " Consulate?

[Formaleins]

As Lou Reed sang, "You're gonna reap just what you sow" - Later it will be "Too many Chinese" then "Too many Indians" eventually they will wake up and realize that they they killed the golden goose when they thought they were too good for Westerners. Who's crying now?

[Polaky]

1 hour ago, wombat said:

Opening a Consulate says it all.

Maybe they can annex the island?

Maybe rename phuket to Petersburg?

[bobbin]

2 hours ago, Ty Hareways said:

Re: Global Troublemakers- surely anyone with even half a brain knows that the worlds biggest troublemakers are America????

Fun Fact: i'm neither pro-Russia nor pro-Ukraine.

Well, anybody who is using their half-brain would realize the crucial difference TY...

 

Sure USA throws their weight around.. Are you surprised by that? People and Nations do that.. it helps get what they want.

 

But Russia, in all it's incarnations over the last 400 years, has a nasty habit of inviting themselves into their immediate neighbor's house and never leaving.. unless or until they are thrown out..

 

And that is the crucial difference.

 

This message is also for the few benighted souls on here (non-Russian) who try to play to the Russian audience here..

[RanongCat]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

The Thaiger gives figures from the top (Russia) down to 11 times smaller, Ukraine is not even on the list.

 

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/international-tourism-2022-11-5-million-foreign-arrivals

The Thaiger is an official source ?

[RanongCat]

3 hours ago, traveller101 said:

As of 30 August 2023, several European countries have temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to russian citizens. 

Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkise, UK.

Sorry for nitpicking - but your "facts" are incomplete as well as out of date.

 

 

Obvious NATO members "suspended" issue of  visa. Not  ban .

[malibukid]

3 hours ago, traveller101 said:

As of 30 August 2023, several European countries have temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to russian citizens. 

Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkise, UK.

Sorry for nitpicking - but your "facts" are incomplete as well as out of date.

 

 

good if they will not fight for Puke.e. than they should protest in the streets like we did

[Spock]

2 hours ago, Marco51 said:

make that 30 plus. 20 years ago the red songtau mafia already extorted 100 Baht from tourists where 10 Baht would be the real fare.

I lived there 6 months in 1995 after 5 years in Bangkok and found it much more expensive than Bangkok. I had a car too which meant I did not have to deal with the transport mafia. I couldn't get out of Phuket quickly enough.

[connda]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Locals complain about the large number of Russians fleeing the fallout of the war in Ukraine, claiming they are stealing Thai jobs.

<Laughs>

[impulse]

2 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Statista.com

 

Actually I researched this about 5 months ago when I read an article that Russians and Ukrainian’s were causing trouble, it was a biased article, at the time none of the arrests were Ukrainians.

Do you have a link for how many arrivals and how many departures?  That would be an interesting one...

 

My favorite resort in Jomtien catered to Russkies, Ukrainians and East Germans.  I thought they were generally delightful.  Maybe because the place charged a lot more than the average Cheap Charlie hotel in Pattaya.  Lots of families and some of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen.  Along came 2014 and Eastern European tourism scaled way back.  Then the place was predominated by Chinese tourists.  They were different, but still pretty easy to get along with.

 

[connda]

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

I don't mind the Russians I get on ok with them and over the years we have had lots of Russian guests, I could think of other nationalities who have been worse than Russians,

One thing I do notice they don't complain they just get on with it, since the start of the war we have had a few Russians all of them have been great, 

2 couples left Russia and were living in Turkey, one couple left us to go back to Turkey pick up his car and drive to Spain and then go to Argentina, his wife was pregnant not only the baby can get citizenship the parent do,

The ones I have spoke to here want the war to stop, one woman her mother was Ukrainian she was worried the world will hate Russians, they were a nice couple, 

I get along with any and everybody regardless of their ethnicity, race, or nationality. 
I don't create my opinion of people based on whom our own governments and "leaders" tell us are "good" or "bad."  I base my opinion of people based on their actions and the content of their character.  I'm neutral with most everyone at the beginning.  Trust builds over time.

History is littered with examples of genocide, ethnic-cleansing, and pogroms when governments and authority figures tell their compliant public whom to hate and despise as well as why.  Any expat who has traveled the world and wasn't brought up with a built-in racial, ethnic, or nationalistic bias should understand that.

[ChasingTheSun]

4 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Actually the statistics on arrivals say that the ratio is about 50 to 1 in Russians to Ukrainians.

Show us the actual link of these statistics you are quoting for both arrivals and long stay visas.

[Freddy42OZ]

5 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

More coming as flights from are going to increased in the coming months, I thought Russians weren’t allowed to leave Russia ?

Two months ago my Russian girlfriend flew back to Moscow with her daughter, then back to Bangkok a few days later.  No issue for her to fly there and back. 



 

[Thjames]

6 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Well, when the majority of the population have no idea whats happening outside their country, it takes a while see the bigger picture here that began in late October 2022......

you talking about Russians or Americans?

[yachtman45]

You get what you ask for !!  

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, RanongCat said:

The Thaiger is an official source ?

Their data came from Phuket Immigration, which you would know if you bothered to click the link

[thailand49]

Thai leaders got what they wish this should have been expected years even before covid they were doing this story was your bus operator with their own guides. Out of hand complaint they cramp down. 

This happens for reasons Immigration corruption next local police with the local Mayor. 

[manta]

You reap what you sow…

[xeniv23]

Patongrad lies in Western Phuket Oblast.  North of Rawiyvka.  

[Dan747]

WOW-Imagine that all was predicted months ago on this site with the influx of Russians invading Pattaya, Koh Chang, Phuket, etc. Will their be Karma?