Russian business, go away! Russians in Thailand

About 3,000 emigrants from Russia live permanently on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand. Russian business is growing every season. The locals don't like it. In neighboring Phuket, several anti-Russian demonstrations took place last year with calls to rid the island of the “Russian mafia”.

According to local residents, immigrants from Russia have monopolized the entire tourism business in the resort town of Bang Tao: from taxis to restaurants and laundries. In January last year, dozens of angry auto rickshaws, chanting: “Russian business, go away!”, Destroyed several offices of Russian travel agencies. “Russian entrepreneurs speak badly of us: they tell customers that our prices are higher, while we ourselves lure money from tourists and are poorly educated,” said one of the tuktukers.

(Total 15 photos)

Thailand is popular among tourists, but the country cannot be called a resort idyll. Over the past eighty years, the kingdom has experienced almost twenty coups d'état, in which the army traditionally plays a key role. The latest coup this spring saw the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the rise of a military junta. Four years earlier, thousands of Thai socialists took to the streets to demand the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Abhisita Vetchachiva of the Democratic Party, whose supporters rallied against Shinawatra in 2014.

Protests are held mainly in Bangkok and other major cities, so the constant change of governments does not actually affect the tourism business away from the capital. In 2012, Thailand was visited by 22.3 million tourists, of which 1.3 million were Russians (25% more than in 2011).

According to Rosstat, most of the emigrants leave Russia for the former Soviet republics, primarily for Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Only about 50,000 Russians a year move to non-CIS countries (USA, Germany, Spain, Italy).

Photographer Sergei Poteryaev asked Russians working on Koh Samui where they lived and worked before they left for Thailand.

1. Ulyana. Three months on Koh Samui, unemployed. She was a student in Yekaterinburg.

2. Masha. On Koh Samui for a year, he works as a consultant in a pharmacy of Thai traditional medicine. In Moscow, she worked in a hotel.

3. Eugene. On Koh Samui for a year, he works in the field of Internet commerce. In Krasnodar he did the same.

4. Inga. Four years on Koh Samui, owner of an event agency. In St. Petersburg she worked as a manager.

5. Alena. She has been on Koh Samui for two months, working as a consultant in a Thai traditional medicine pharmacy. In Yekaterinburg, she worked at the airport.

6. Hilarion. On Koh Samui for a year and a half, working in the tourism sector Thaistar. In Vladivostok he was a reserve officer.

7. Lucy. Three years on Koh Samui, works as a DJ. In St. Petersburg, she worked in an IT company.

8. Marina. Three months on Koh Samui, on maternity leave. In Moscow, she worked as a flight attendant.

9. Oleg. On Koh Samui for nine years, the owner of a bakery. In Moscow, he was engaged in IT business.

10. Lena. On Koh Samui for two months, freelancing. In Moscow, she worked in an international advertising agency.

11. Rita. On Koh Samui for a year, works for Samuidays. She studied at the university in Moscow.

12. Sergey. She has been on Koh Samui for two years, she works as a cook. In St. Petersburg, he did the same.

13. Olga. Three years on Koh Samui, working as a photographer. In Moscow she worked as a manager.

14. Nastya. She has been on Koh Samui for seven years, she works as an organizer of holidays. She worked as a journalist in Irkutsk.

15. Renat. She has been on Koh Samui for two years, she works for Samuidays. In Vladivostok, he was a commercial director.