00:00 Sunset, selfies and Cyrillic in the sand.
00:07 I love Phuket because it's warm and very beautiful.
00:14 The island of Phuket is not exactly a hard sell,
00:17 and there's one particular type of buyer driving a property boom.
00:21 Russians love Phuket because Phuket is a very nice place to live and spend your holiday.
00:26 Almost half a million Russians arrived in Phuket between January and July this year,
00:31 and about 10,000 of them decided to stay long term.
00:35 And everything is made in light colours.
00:39 Kristina Kamysheva lived in Siberia before selling Sunset on Phuket.
00:44 She says the influx of Russian buyers has contributed to big price rises,
00:49 particularly on the western side of the island.
00:52 We are in the best unit in terms of view.
00:55 Usually it's 5% every year, the price increased for 5%.
01:00 But this year I think it was boom, so it increased for 10 or even 20%.
01:07 80% of the buyers in this complex are Russians,
01:10 and they're now the leading international buyers of property across the island.
01:15 Locals are so happy with Russian tourists coming here.
01:18 You don't think there's any tension?
01:19 No, no.
01:21 But local business owners like Sekhon disagree.
01:26 Russian people run their own hotels.
01:28 They provide car rental services and tour packages for customers,
01:32 so they don't have to find those by themselves.
01:35 The benefits do not reach local people or legitimate businesses.
01:40 The Opposition Move Forward Party says the government
01:42 should give Russians more rights to work legally.
01:46 Thai people, they welcome foreigners to stay, to live together in Thailand.
01:52 But we need everyone to comply with the law.
01:55 It's not just illegal work some locals are worried about.
01:59 There are also reports of Russians being involved
02:02 in widespread criminal activity on Phuket.
02:05 But that's not really supported by the statistics.
02:08 Of the 635 foreigners who were charged with offences
02:11 in the first half of this year, only 78 were Russian.
02:14 And police say there's no evidence of a mafia presence on the island.
02:19 With winter coming in Russia and no end in sight for the war in Ukraine,
02:23 the influx of Russians only looks set to increase.
02:27 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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