The golden domes of a Russian Orthodox church, topped with the traditional three-bar Slavic cross, seem incongruous as they tower over the palm trees, pineapple fields and rubber plantations of a tropical Thai island.
asserted
they → top → island
Phuket is better known, after all, for the landmark 148ft Big Buddha overlooking a sweeping southern bay and the ornate architecture of the revered Wat Chalong temple – along with all the beaches and bars that lure tourists to this holiday idyll.
asserted
that → know → idyll
Yet the Holy Trinity Church symbolises how this city has been invaded by Russians.
asserted
city → symbolise → Russians
It is estimated at least 60,000 Russians have moved to this island that is home to 432,000 registered citizens.
asserted
that → estimate → citizens
And almost twice as many visitors arrive from Russia as from any other nation, with over 619,000 arrivals in the first seven months of this year.
asserted
visitors → arrive → year
Many of the emigres are fleeing war, conscription or stifling repression.
asserted
Many → flee → war
Some are evading Western sanctions.
asserted
Some → evade → sanctions
Others are buying up property in Phuket as a safer home for their cash than investing in their conflict-torn economy.
asserted
Others → buy → economy
Now there is a new wave of arrivals amid concerns that Vladimir Putin, after the conclusion of the three-day parliamentary elections a week ago, will order a major new mobilisation for his bloodstained frontline, as losses mount and Ukrainian drones damage confidence in his regime.
asserted
drones → be → regime
Visiting the church, I met a young man from St Petersburg, who told me he was praying for a better life.
asserted
he → visit → life
He arrived in Phuket a week ago to avoid being sent to fight in a war that has already reportedly seen a staggering 300,000 Russians killed or wounded this year alone.
uncertain
Russians → arrive → war
It is estimated at least 60,000 Russians have moved to this island that is home to 432,000 registered citizens.
asserted
that → estimate → citizens
And almost twice as many visitors arrive from Russia as from any other nation
‘I don’t understand the point of this Ukrainian war.
asserted
I → arrive → war
Not a single one of my friends supports it or wants to fight,’ he said.
asserted
he → support → it
‘I will stay here until the end of the war.’
asserted
I → stay → war
This new exile went on to explain how his work-from-home job in Russia became much harder due to the Kremlin’s recent internet clampdown, adding that he worked alongside many Ukrainians at his company ‘and everyone gets along with each other’.
asserted
everyone → go → other
How strange that here on a holiday island in South-East Asia you can gain insights into the mood in Russia – and evidence again of the stupidity of Putin’s war.
asserted
you → gain → war
I met another man fleeing military service outside the office of a luxury property firm in Bang Tao, a Russian-dominated beach resort on the island with many construction projects, gated villa compounds and smart blocks of flats built around landscaped lakes.
asserted
I → meet → lakes
I agreed not to mention his name, job or hometown since he is planning to bring out his children, wife and parents.
asserted
he → agree → children
But he was in his 30s, from a wealthy family, arrived in Phuket last month and has already bought three properties in the town.
asserted
he → arrive → town
‘We all worry about the war,’ he said.
asserted
he → worry → war
‘Every day there is the “boom, boom, boom” as drones or missiles are destroyed.
asserted
drones → be → ?
I want it finished soon.
asserted
it → want → ?
I am a Russian citizen and I love Russia – but no, I don’t love my leader.’
He continued: ‘Now I have no business, no job.
asserted
I → love → business
But like many people in Russia, I fear there will be a new mobilisation.
asserted
I → fear → Russia
I cannot shoot and kill people.’
Like other Russian migrants with whom I spoke, he had visited Thailand frequently since first coming as a child on holiday.
asserted
he → shoot → holiday
‘I like the food, the people, the weather,’ he said – although he added that he liked living among friends in a Russian community.
asserted
he → like → community
The expat build-up on the island began after the collapse of the Soviet Union, followed by the start of direct charter flights.
asserted
up → begin → flights
By 2009, a US diplomatic cable was warning Washington about the presence of Russian organised crime networks in Thailand.
asserted
cable → warn → Thailand
But the big surges came with conflict: first after initial attacks on Ukraine in 2014 and the subsequent collapse of the rouble amid sanctions; then after the full-scale invasion in 2022 and – most notably – Russia’s ‘partial mobilisation’ that September.
asserted
surges → come → 2022
There are traditional saunas and caviar in the shops, advertisements for nail salons and legal firms in cyrillic, as well as borscht served in Russian restaurants
This showed Russians that Putin’s supposedly short-term ‘special military operation’ to grab Ukraine was descending into a long, brutal and damaging war with serious consequences for their country.
asserted
operation → be → country
Thailand adopts a position of ‘neutrality’ over the war and imposes no sanctions – and it is cheaper for exiles here than alternative escape destinations such as Dubai.
asserted
it → adopt → Dubai
Now, in places such as Bang Tao – where blocks of flats are shooting up on beachside plots that lay empty five years ago – and Chalong, which is popular with less prosperous exiles, local people joke that their towns are turning into ‘Little Russia’.
asserted
towns → shoot → Russia
Russvet – a private ‘school under the sun’ offering Moscow’s curriculum and exams in both Bang Tao and Chalong – has taught more than 1,800 children since opening in 2013.
asserted
Russvet → offer → 2013
‘Life is not good now in Russia,’ said a staff member.
asserted
member → say → Russia
Many businesses rely on Russian customers.
asserted
businesses → rely → customers
Typical was a cigar shop in Bang Tao, which opened last year in response to the influx.
asserted
which → open → influx
It sells Cohiba cigars that cost up to £132 each on an island where the minimum wage is less than £9 a day.
asserted
wage → sell → island
Gem, 33, said eight out of ten of her customers were Russian, admitting she was shocked when she first saw one buy a Cohiba.
asserted
one → say → Cohiba
‘I would have to work many days to pay this price,’ she said.
asserted
she → have → price
…and 58 more, not listed.
The Aporia
