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Sanctions hit Russian tourists in Bali, Thailand
Unprecedented sanctions against Russia's banks over its invasion of Ukraine are taking a toll on its citizens overseas.
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hen Russian tourist Konstantin Ivanov tried to withdraw money from his home bank account at a cash machine on the resort island of Bali, the transaction was blocked.
Unprecedented sanctions against Russia's banks over its invasion of Ukraine are taking a toll on its citizens overseas, who have been left scrambling to find cash or have turned to crypto transactions to get by.
"This has created a huge problem for us. We have been left completely stripped of our finances. It's like they have been completely frozen, and we cannot use them at all over here," said Ivanov, 27, adding that he might have to look for a job in Indonesia.
Bali is a popular holiday destination with Russian tourists, who flocked to the island by the tens of thousands before the pandemic and were among the first to return when borders partially reopened last year.
About 1,150 Russians entered the country in January 2022, according to government data.
Rifki Saldi Yanto, the manager of a local café, said he had noticed a decline in Russian customers in recent days and that many now were paying with cash instead of credit cards.
Russia's embassy in Jakarta said it was providing information and assistance to any citizen who faced problems.
Denis Tetiushin, an embassy spokesperson, said Russia's Pochta Bank was now offering a virtual card using China's UnionPay system instead of Visa or Mastercard.
"It's free of charge, and people may open it wherever they are," he said in a text message.
Meanwhile more than 7,000 Russians were stranded in Thailand, another popular beach destination, because of flight cancellations, a ruble currency in free-fall and payment issues.
Russia's economy is facing its gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, after western countries moved in recent days to isolate it from the global financial system.
International payments system SWIFT has disconnected several Russian banks from its network, while Visa and Mastercard said they were blocking overseas use of their cards issued by Russian banks from Wednesday.
The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russia's economy was experiencing a shock and that measures were being taken due to what it described as an unprecedented economic war being waged against Moscow.
Russia has been hit by Western sanctions and the withdrawals of foreign firms. Nestle, Philip Morris and video gamemaker Sony joined the list of multinationals stepping back from Russia on Wednesday as pressure mounts from consumers in the West to take a stand against the invasion of Ukraine.
Many businesses face difficulty working in Russia due to sanctions and a lack of shipping, in addition to pressure from consumers and investors, and describe ending work in Russia in more practical terms, without blaming the Russian government for attacking Ukraine.
