Russian tourist who posed naked on sacred Bali peak to be deported

 

A Russian man, identified only as Yuri, will be deported from Indonesia for posing with his pants around his ankles in a photo taken atop Mount Agung, a sacred peak in Bali. Although the tourist has apologised, he will be barred from re-entering the Asian country for at least six months.

The highest point in Bali, Mount Agung is believed by Hindus to be the home of the gods. In a video posted on Instagram, Yuri was seen blaming the incident on his "personal ignorance". He later took part in a special cleansing ceremony - ritual locals often hold after such incidents.

CNN Indonesia quoted Wijaya, Russia's honorary consul general in Bali, as calling the tourist "crazy" and agreeing with the decision to deport him. A number of locals on social media also supported Yuri's deportation.

In recent months, the paradise in Indonesia has increased efforts to crack down on foreign tourists behaving inappropriately. Last year, Canadian actor Jeffrey Craigen was deported from the country after being found dancing naked on another sacred Balinese peak, Mount Batur. And in 2021, a three-minute video showing a Russian couple having sex on the same sacred peak in central Bali triggered a substantial uproar.

Earlier this month, authorities on the island said they were planning to prohibit foreign tourists from renting motorbikes, after a series of cases involving people not following traffic laws.

Governor Wayan Koster has also made announcements on plans to revoke visa-on-arrival permits for Russian and Ukrainian tourists, highlighting that scores of people from the two countries had arrived in the province amid the war but were often found breaking local regulations.

But locals have expressed concerns over tighter regulations affecting tourism, which used to contribute 60% to the island's annual GDP before the Covid pandemic.

While Australians (at least 91,000) accounted for the largest number of foreign tourists arriving in Bali in January 2023, Russia took the second spot with about 22,000 of its citizens flocking to the province that month.