The Russian invasion of Thailand: they want to escape the war

Having become unwelcome in many Western countries, Russians are coming to Thailand in large numbers and many intend to stay.

The war in Ukraine has resulted in an incalculable human toll, while shaking markets, disrupting supply chains and causing inflation to soar worldwide.

But in Thailand, this two-year-old conflict also has a profound social impact, even though it is taking place more than 4,000 kilometers away.

While many Western nations have banned Russian air travel in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Thailand considers Russian arrivals essential to reviving its pandemic-ravaged tourism industry.

In October, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin extended 90-day arrival visas for Russian passports, insisting in a February interview :

“We are not part of the conflict.”

We are neutral. »

Last year, Russians ranked first among tourist arrivals in Thailand from outside Asia, with 1.4 million visitors.

Moreover, Russians were the most numerous on the island of Phuket, a seaside resort that has long been a favorite destination.

Last July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Phuket to inaugurate a new consulate to cope with the increasing number of visitors.

See: The Russian Foreign Minister visits Thailand in Phuket

A month later, the Phuket Tourism Association sent a delegation to St. Petersburg and Moscow to attract even more vacationers.

The Russian wave in Thailand

Russian travelers at Phuket International Airport. Photo: Bangkok Post

In the first three months of this year, 366,095 Russians arrived at Phuket International Airport, almost double the same period in 2023, and they have transformed the commercial and social life of the island.

This figure does not include the significant number of Russians who arrived via Thailand's main gateway, Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The Russian incursion into Thailand seems to be here to stay.

In addition to preferential visas, sanctions imposed on Russian airlines and reciprocal bans imposed on Western airlines have reduced the number of destinations where Russian nationals can escape their harsh winter.

This makes Thailand, already a popular destination, an even easier choice.

Fleeing economic stagnation and war

Tourists and traders in a pedestrian street in the old town of Phuket. Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran

There are also a significant number of people fleeing economic stagnation and a war they did not choose, especially since the Kremlin increased military conscription due to the growing number of casualties.

Mark, a Russian who took refuge in Thailand with his boyfriend after the first conscription announcement in September 2022 and asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons, said :

That was the last straw for us.

“We understood that we could not go back because anyone can be drafted into the army and simply die in the war.”

As a result, the number of Russians choosing to stay in Thailand long-term is skyrocketing.

Beyond the 90-day arrival visas, thousands of them are applying for one-year business or education visas.

Mark is still employed by his Russian IT company thanks to an understanding boss, although remote work is strictly against company policy.

Every day, he fears that a draft bill or an internal investigation by management will put an end to this vital salary.

If this happens, "I'll try to find a local job or another job (remote) in Russia," he said.

“I will try by all means not to go back there.”

Arnold, who asked to use only his first name, left Moscow to settle permanently in the Thai resort town of Hua Hin last year.

He noticed an increase in what are colloquially called “relocaters” who are fleeing the “various negative things happening in their country”.

Phuket property prices rise due to Russians

Laguna Phuket Complex.

Affluent Russians are buying luxury cars and yachts and renting or buying villas.

Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, advisory president of the Phuket Tourism Association, said:

The luxurious Laguna Phuket complex, located on the seafront and composed of villas, an ornamental lake and an 18-hole golf course, is now nicknamed 'Little Moscow'.

More than half of the residents of its 4 km² are Russian, according to Laguna's property management office, which employs two native Russian speakers to cope with the demographic shift.

In Phuket, property prices have risen by around 20% due to the influx of Russians, explained Bhummikitti.

See: Phuket booming thanks to wealthy Russians looking for second homes

Crime and Illegal Work

Russian women invite passersby to visit a Russian striptease club in Phuket. Photo: FA Travel

Although it is a boon for the macroeconomy, the influx of immigrants has irritated the inhabitants of Phuket who complain more and more that Russians are stealing jobs and disrupting cultural norms.

Voir : Certaines activités russes rendent les Thaïlandais furieux à Phuket

But, after the assault of a Thai woman by a Swiss national in February, a case that made headlines and shocked the country, the police launched a crackdown on foreigners with illegal activities targeting Russians as well.

See: Thailand cracks down on illegal Russian businesses in Phuket

In Thailand, headlines such as 'Enraged Russian attacks Phuket police team' and ' Russian tourist kicks pregnant Thai woman ' are both a symptom and a source of concern.

However, cases involving New Zealand, Swiss, and Portuguese nationals are also on the rise, it's true.

See: Thais concerned about the rise in aggression involving foreigners

Lieutenant Colonel Akachai Siri, chief inspector of the Phuket Tourist Police, explained:

“Russia and Thailand are so different and sometimes they don't understand Thai law and culture.”

See: Things to do and not to do in Thailand, essential things to know

“Sometimes they break the law and don't acknowledge that we have law enforcement.”

The incursion has also put more pressure on the tourist police, who have only 60 officers to assist some 2,000 members of the Royal Thai Police and 60 immigration police officers spread between Phuket and the adjacent province of Phang Nga.

In addition to the increase in the number of tourists, whereas before the pandemic, 60% of tourists traveled in groups with guides and agents to resolve issues, today, 70% are independent travelers.

This means that tourist police are increasingly being called upon to arbitrate all sorts of conflicts.

The easing of entry conditions has also attracted criminals.

In early February, Phuket police arrested five alleged Russian gangsters for kidnapping and extorting more than $800,000 in cryptocurrency from a Belarusian couple who, according to Akachai, were retaliating against a financial dispute in their home country.

See: Russian gangsters kidnap foreign couple in Phuket, Thailand

And last month, a 42-year-old Russian was found stabbed to death in a rented house used as a cannabis farm.

See: Russian tourist murdered in Phuket, southern Thailand

The main suspect is a Tajik national who fled Thailand for Turkey just hours after the murder.

However, according to Akachai, most crimes are linked to the illegal work of Russians determined not to return home while the war rages on, but who do not have the means to support themselves indefinitely.

Many Russians have settled in as unofficial tour guides, car and motorcycle rental operators, real estate agents, hairdressers, or even sex workers, advertising online via Telegram groups.

See: Thailand shocked by the number of illegal foreign workers

Understanding between Russians and Ukrainians

Arrival of Russian tourists at Phuket Airport. Photo : The Nation Thailand

In addition to Russians, a significant number of Ukrainians have fled their war-torn country for Thailand, potentially creating a powder keg atmosphere.

But Akachai says he hasn’t encountered a single clash or negative incident between the two nationalities in Phuket.

Yury Rozhkov, 46, a Russian national who works for a travel agency in Bangkok, says he regularly meets Ukrainians staying in his building and that relations are nothing but cordial.

See: Russians and Ukrainians arrested in Thailand for playing poker

In Hua Hin, Arnold is a member of a Russian-language Telegram group with over 4,500 members from across the former Soviet bloc, but he claims not to recall a single politically tinged message among the approximately 400 posts made daily.

« 99.9% of discussions are about where to find the best pad thai, current local market prices, how to rent a car or where to get vaccinated », he says.

Perched near the main gate of the Laguna Phuket resort, the Odessa restaurant serves Ukrainian syrniki pancakes and smoked salmon croissants topped with gold leaf.

The menu features options in Ukrainian, English and Russian, and staff say the majority of customers speak Russian.

“There are many Ukrainian restaurants filled with Russians in Phuket,” says Bhummikitti.

Ultimately, both parties involved in this senseless conflict share the same desire to stay out of harm's way by all necessary means.

See also:

The positive and negative impacts of the influx of Russians in Thailand

Thai authorities deny allegations about Russians in Phuket

Russians and French are the main foreign perpetrators of crimes in Phuket

Thailand, a new haven for Russians fleeing war

2 Russian tourists fleeing the war, arrested for begging in Thailand

Source: Time