When Russian influencer Luiza Kosykh draped herself among the roots of a 700-year-old tree in Bali, she claimed she was trying to be at "one with nature".
In some photos, she is covered in a white sheet, while in others she appears to be totally naked.
However, two years after she posted the pictures on Instagram, they went viral among Bali locals, reigniting a heated debate about the behaviour of foreign tourists on the Indonesian island.
The tree next to the ancient Babakan Temple in Bayan Village is considered to be holy by Balinese people.
However, the 40-year-old influencer — who was arrested on Wednesday — claims she was wearing underwear in the images, and a friend later edited them so that she appeared naked.
Immigration authorities say Ms Kosykh will be deported tonight, becoming the 59th Russian to be banished from the Indonesian island since last year.
A string of offensive incidents has fuelled a growing resentment towards Russian arrivals in Bali.
Only two weeks ago, Russian blogger Yuri Chilikin was deported after he dropped his trousers and flashed his naked buttocks on top of a Balinese volcano.
He later apologised and said he would never have recorded the video if he had known that Mt Agung was considered one of the holiest places in Bali for Hindus.
Badly behaved foreign tourists have always been a problem for Bali.
However, officials say, since reopening to international visitors a little over a year ago, locals have become fed up with an influx of Russians and Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin's war causing trouble in paradise.
From public nudity and drunkenness, to more serious criminal behaviour, locals say the antics of some Russian visitors has reached such epic proportions that they have simply had enough.
Yesterday morning a Ukrainian man was also deported for working illegally as a photographer.
And last night more than 20 immigration officers swooped on a tourist village at Ubud, where many Russians and Ukrainians live or work online, checking to see that their visas and passports were in order. No arrests were made.
Bali's shifting mood
The tropical paradise has long been a favourite destination for Russians, but the sheer number of visitors now arriving in Bali appears to have changed the dynamic with locals.
Since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year, tourists from both Russia and Ukraine have sought refuge in places where they can still enter and obtain visas relatively easily.
In just five months to January this year, almost 80,000 Russians arrived in Bali, along with almost 9,000 Ukrainians.
Russians made up the second-largest group of foreign nationals in Bali last year, second only to Australians.
Before the pandemic started in 2020, Russians were not even in the top five nationalities that visited Bali.
Many Russian men are undoubtedly flocking to the island to escape the military draft to fight in Ukraine.
While Russians were initially welcomed by the famously friendly Balinese, tensions between locals and some visitors have soured.
There have also been several incidents in which Russians have been accused of disrespecting sacred sites — including Mr Chilikin and Ms Kosykh's nude scandals.
And a Russian man in January was accused of vandalism after painting an anti-war slogan in large Russian letters along the wall of a residential home near Canggu.
Translated, the slogan said "Body Here – Heart There", which is a common protest phrase used by Russian men conscripted to fight in Ukraine.
Bali's governor, Wayan Koster, has now asked the Indonesian government to deny Russians and Ukrainians access to visas on arrival, so that they're subjected to closer scrutiny before they gain entry.
"Why these two countries? Because they are at war, so they flock here," he said last month.
There are more serious crimes committed by some Russian visitors, including gang-related crime, extortion, drug trafficking and violent assault.
Allegations of serious criminal activity raises tensions
While badly behaved Russians have dominated the headlines in Bali in recent months, there are many foreign nationals serving time in Bali's 10 jails, including Australians and at least two Ukrainians.
Just last month, a Ukrainian man and a Syrian were accused of obtaining fraudulent identity cards in Bali, and could face five years in jail if convicted.
Around 20 Russians are currently in prison in Bali for a range of crimes, but the majority are there for drug offences.
They currently make up 20 per cent of foreigners in Balinese prisons or detention centres, according to Indonesian authorities.
Artem Dzyuba was jailed for 8.5 years after he ordered 500 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from a supplier in Canada, and had it packaged and posted to him at a guesthouse in north Kuta, where police promptly arrested him.
Other Russian suspects are still on the run, possibly hiding out on the holiday island.
Evgenii Bagriantsev, 57, was jailed last year for extortion, after he and a small gang threatened to plant drugs in the home of a businessman from Uzbekistan unless he handed over thousands of dollars in cash and 21 motorcycles.
Prosecutors alleged in court that Bagriantsev and another Russian, Maxim Zhiltsov, had posed as Interpol officers to threaten their victim and extort money.
They also said Bagriantsev's wife, Olga, had "physically pressured" their victim.
The Russian Embassy in Indonesia told Russian media it was "aware of the gang's existence" in 2021.
"In the past few years, the embassy has periodically received messages from Russian citizens that a group of people are operating in Bali who planted drugs," an embassy official said.
They also said they had asked Bali police for more detail, but did not receive a response.
Olga Bagryantseva and Maxim Zhiltsov are still fugitives, possibly still in Bali.
For months "wanted" posters were plastered across the island, as police hunted for them and two other suspects.
In February this year, another Russian blogger and Bitcoin trader, Yuri Boytsov, told Bali police he had been robbed by a separate gang of Russian-speakers.
He alleged they entered his villa and forced him to transfer $US284,000 ($426,000) of Bitcoin from his account.
Mr Boytsov said only one offender was caught, and he was deported instead of charged.
'Mr Putin, your people in Bali are very troublesome'
One of the biggest sources of tension between Balinese residents and Russian and Ukrainian visitors is a perception that they are "stealing" jobs by working illegally as tour guides, photographers, driving instructors and sex workers.
Many locals and foreign tourists post a steady stream of complaints on social media.
Russian visitors use a Telegram group called "Make Bali Cleaner" to rail against the behaviour of some of their compatriots.
One Balinese blogger and political activist, Ni Luh Djelantik, recently uploaded an open letter to her Instagram page, addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Mr Putin, your people in Bali are very troublesome," she declared.
"We'll send them home, blacklist them if they abuse their residence permit by working/opening a business, stealing the livelihoods of local residents."
The Indonesian government is still considering whether to restrict entry visas for Russians and Ukrainians.
While the ABC has contacted the Russian Embassy in Indonesia, it has not received a response.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Indonesia, Vasyl Hamianin, took exception to the governor's request, saying his people have been unfairly painted with the same brush as some Russian visitors.
"To put Russians and Ukrainians together, and [blame] them for something that is not proven, is offensive," he said.
"Prove that Ukrainians commit any crime in the scale enough to be banned from visa on arrival. Do not mix Russians and Ukrainians. We are very different."
In the meantime, local and national officials are considering other ways to rein in unruly foreign visitors.
Immigration official Barron Ichsan has called on authorities to issue a guidebook for all foreign tourists in Bali, listing everything they can and can't do while they're on the island.
"Not all foreigners know what things are allowed and not allowed in Bali," he told reporters yesterday.
Bali has also asked national authorities to consider a ban on foreigners from riding motorbikes, in an effort to crack down on widespread traffic violations.
Late last month, Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement to crack down on transnational crime, a move Indonesia says will help eradicate criminal acts and be a positive move for tourism.
At least one Russian who was sent home previously has since returned to Bali indefinitely.
Artem Kotukhov was deported in 2021, but was allowed back in last year.
A local anti-narcotics agency has publicly confirmed he is now working with them to help Indonesian authorities crack down on drug trafficking by Russians.
