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Sanctions trap thousands of Russian tourists in Thailand

Over 3,000 Russian holidaymakers stranded in the Southeast Asian country amid economic sanctions
Sanctions trap thousands of Russian tourists in Thailand

The Bangkok Post newspaper featuring front-page coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine hangs in the lobby of an apartment building in Bangkok on Feb. 25. (Photo: Jack Taylor/AFP)

Published: March 10, 2022 04:41 AM GMT
Updated: March 10, 2022 04:48 AM GMT

Thousands of Russian tourists have been stranded in Thailand after their country’s invasion of Ukraine triggered global economic sanctions, Russian diplomats say.

As many as 3,200 Russians who have been holidaying on the southern Thai island of Koh Samui and elsewhere in the seaside region popular with holidaymakers are running out of cash as the ruble has crashed and local banks refuse to exchange the currency for Thai baht.

Russian tourists are no longer able to use their credit cards as a result of severe economic sanctions on their homeland, according to Ashwani Bajaj, an honorary Russian consul based in Surat Thani, a southern seaside province, where he works in the hospitality industry.

The Tourism Authority of Krabi, a popular seaside province, has said the agency has been contacting resorts and the Russian embassy in Bangkok to coordinate efforts to help Russian tourists who are running out of cash, according to Chanyarak Sathitjit, the agency’s director.

Complicating matters for these tourists is that all flights to Russia by international carriers have been canceled as a result of global economic sanctions that have been put in place since late last month when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s armed forces to invade neighboring Ukraine, ostensibly to defend ethnic Russians there from “genocide.”

Thai authorities have said they will allow Russian tourists to renew their tourist visas without any charge so that they can continue staying in Thailand.

"These are not ordinary citizens who couldn’t do anything about [the war]. These are the Russian elite that tolerated Putin because they were benefiting from him"

Thailand’s military-allied government, which has long had amicable relations with Russia, has adopted a stance of neutrality over the Russian invasion.

“We need to be composed and make decisions carefully. Thailand must maintain a neutral stance,” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former army chief, told his cabinet last week.

“We also support the peace process to end the conflict and war. We need to tread carefully and act through ASEAN’s mechanisms,” Prayut later explained to reporters, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic grouping.   

The views expressed on social media about the plight of Russian tourists have been mixed.

“These are not ordinary citizens who couldn’t do anything about [the war]. These are the Russian elite that tolerated Putin because they were benefiting from him,” one commenter argued.

“Confiscate all Russian assets [in Thailand] and give the money to the Thais who have suffered through the pandemic,” he added.

However, other commenters have expressed sympathy for the stranded Russians.

“Any Russian who can go on holiday is an oligarch? Don’t be daft,” a commenter stressed in response to such sentiments.

“Don’t hate Russians, hate Putin, but he needs to lose the support of [his] people,” observed another.

“Why do you bitter fools rejoice in seeing ordinary people suffer? They [Russian tourists] never had a say in this whole thing just like the Ukrainians,” a third said.

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