Destinations known | ‘Russian annexation of Bali’: Instagram post renaming Canggu as ‘New Moscow’ sets social media abuzz
- The post on the Canggu Bali News account was in recognition of the fact the village has seen an influx of Russians since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war
- A Bali tourism official pointed out that Singapore had Little India and Chinatown, implying that having places that were a ‘mini-me’ was cool
“The Russian annexation of Bali”, “Bali has been colonised by Russia”; certain sections of social media are abuzz following the arrival of a new place name on the map of Indonesia’s Island of the Gods.
The kerfuffle began on May 8, when the Canggu Bali News Instagram account posted a map on which Canggu – a coastal village that is steadily being subsumed into Kuta, itself a part of the Denpasar Metropolitan Area – had been renamed New Moscow, in recognition of the fact it has seen an influx of Russians since Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
And it’s not just Canggu that is being Russified. When Indounik reposted the map bearing the name New Moscow on X, the user did so with the comment, “Parts of Ubud could just as easily lay to the title”.
Another commentator said, “They are coming to Sanur as well with that new luxury apartment next to an upcoming shopping centre.”
A third added, “Wait until the entire island [is] named as Balinsk.”
