Fierce clashes broke out on the street of Bali's hedonistic hotspot Ubud after police closed a notorious resort catering to Russian expats fleeing war in Ukraine and the threat of conscription.
Hundreds of officers on Monday descended on Parq Ubud, which offers long-term accommodation, a range of bars and restaurants, a wellness centre, gym and co-working facilities, and kicked out all foreign residents on the site.
The crackdown came after the owners of the resort – derisively dubbed “Russian Village” by locals – were accused of repeatedly flouting local development restrictions.
A vision of the encounter – which has since gone viral on social media – showed residents clashing with both police and locals as they were escorted from the facility under armed guard.
Balinese residents celebrated the move on social media, claiming the expat haven's mostly Russian residents had run amok in the once peaceful mountain village since overtaking the town.
The complex has developed an ignominious reputation as the holiday island struggles to cope with the growing number of foreign enclaves popping up in the tourist hotspot.
Many of the villagers are believed to be long-term residents of Bali, who were barred from buying local properties due to the island's strict foreign investment regulations.
The self-proclaimed 'city of the future' has billed itself as 'a global creative city for entrepreneurs, artists and investors' and boasted a range of luxury apartments for ex-patriots.
Balinese police escort foreigners out of the infamous 'Russian Village' resort in the once peaceful mountain town of Ubud
Locals cheered as dozens of police officers stormed the resort and forcibly closed it down
The self-contained 'city of the future' catered mainly to Russian expats and offered long-stay accommodation, bars and restaurants, a gymnasium and co-working spaces
“The futuristic idea of a place where people with common values and interests come together came to life in Parq Ubud,” the complex's owners boasted on their official website.
'This community embodies the idea of a city of the future, where everyone can live among like-minded people.
'If you have a powerful creative energy, if you enjoy making the world a better place, you can join our team. Leave a request and we will contact you.'
Balinese residents took to social media to celebrate the site's closure this week.
'Great news… they have no respect for Balinese culture, nature or island. It is time that Bali belongs to the Balinese again and has appropriate tourism and expat management. Bali should live forever,” said one.
Another said: 'Fantastic. Bali must take back its identity and demand respect.'
Bali Tourism Agency head Tjok Bagus Pemayun said authorities had no choice but to close Parq Ubud after it breached planning rules.
The facilities are intended to protect the island's traditional architecture and shrinking rice field terraces from aggressive overdevelopment.
The vision of the fierce battle between police and residents of the resort went viral this week
'They have to follow local regulations. Even the 'do's and don'ts' guidelines should be fully implemented, such as respecting local culture and so on,” Pemayun told The Australian.
'Whoever the owner is, he has to follow the rules. Whether it's a local or a foreigner.'
Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association spokesperson Rai Suryawijaya said Russians are increasingly moving to Bali due to “the less productive situation in their own country.”
“That's why there are so many of these Russian villages and similar developments happening. We have to be careful in the future,” he said.
Russia's new ambassador to Jakarta, Sergei Tolchenov, defended the country's roughly 40,000 citizens who called the resort island home last August, insisting they were as well-behaved as any other nationality.
“I don't believe people accuse Russian tourists of being the worst among foreign visitors who do not adhere to local laws and customs in Bali,” Tolchenov told The Australian.
“I'm sure it's not just Russians who commit crimes.”
Simmering tensions between local Balinese residents and an influx of Russian residents come after the island took top spot in a list of destinations to avoid amid claims its natural beauty has been eroded by tourism.
The Parq Ubud promoted itself as 'a global creative city for entrepreneurs, artists and investors' before being closed by authorities for violating local development rules
Fodors Magazines placed the idyllic Indonesian island on its 2025 'No List', along with 15 other destinations including Barcelona, Venice, Koh Samui and Mount Everest.
The travel site's annual list highlights tourist destinations that are 'suffering from unsustainable popularity'.
The editors said the tropical enclave's natural environment and tourism industry are intertwined and the sheer number of visitors threatens to deteriorate both.
“Rapid, uncontrolled development, fueled by overtourism, is degrading Bali's natural habitats, eroding its ecological and cultural heritage and creating a 'plastic apocalypse,'” Fodors noted.
'Once pristine beaches such as Kuta and Seminyak are now buried under piles of rubbish, as local waste management systems struggle to keep up.'
The Central Bureau of Statistics of Bali Province has determined that around 3.5 million foreigners had already visited the island in the first seven months of 2024.
The magazine said strong tourist numbers after the pandemic had increased “pressure on the island.”
Local media suggested that the central south of the island suffered the most, with a high concentration of resorts, traffic, development and waste and water management problems plaguing the area.
Bali's natural tranquility is under threat from a host of opponents of international tourism, a magazine has warned
Bali Tourism Board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana said the problem was not the total number of visitors.
“The problem is not total tourism, but the concentration of tourism in certain areas, especially in southern Bali,” he told the Bali Sun.
'This ensures that other areas in Bali that are rich in culture and natural beauty do not receive the same attention, neither from tourists nor from tourism managers.
“Bali does not deserve to be considered a destination to avoid by 2025, as the problem is more about the concentration of tourism in South Bali, rather than overtourism as a whole.”
Indonesia Hotels Association (PHRI) vice-chairman I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya said Bali needs to reevaluate itself.
“This is a warning to Bali itself, which is that Bali needs to stand up because it is tired of preserving its natural culture and environment itself,” he said.
The magazine clarified that certain destinations did not deserve their spot because they were disappointing.
Instead, they were selected because they faced a host of existential risks that international tourism presented.
