I've been in Pattaya for about a week and have visited the Dongtan Beach, Jomtien most days, but have not noticed any Russian boys looking for customers, but perhaps I'm not too observant. In fact like most of Pats the beach seemed very quiet.
Of course today and yesterday are religious holidays in Thailand, so the bars and gogo's are closed. In Sunee severals bars are now closed following a police raid on Thursday night, when a number of under-aged boys were rounded up and I believe there was some testing for drugs. Hence on Friday night Sunee was very quiet with few customers about. I was on my own in Euro Boys at about 10 pm. 3 or 4 very tasty boys available.

Interesting information... I thought South Asians and Middle Easterners were, largely because of the stupid motorbikers all over the Soi VC/Sunee area (which I now avoid because of them).

As for being chased by Russian guys, you are not missing anything. They are as flakey as Thais can be MINUS the charm!

I don't know where the Ruskis go at night. Definitely not Sunnee. I've seen them in Funny Boys but they rarely off boys as explained to me by one of the boys there "Russians handsome men but they want free sex. I no go with them"

I need to temper some of my previous comments about the Russian gentlemen. Some are rather frisky and fun... and drama free! A refreshing change from most of my Pattaya'm encounters these days!

I was at Dongtan Beach last week every day for 4 days, Sun - Wed. Had a really pleasant time. The weather was fabulous... an on-shore breeze kept you cool, the chairs mostly only about 20% full. Many dvd sellers and of course masseurs galore as they have a reduced clientele. All in all a glorious time so if you are suffering somewhere in the cold or inclement social climate then you should get your ass down to Dongtan asap.

Last time I was in Pattaya I thought it had become Pattayavostok and of course there is nothing wrong with that. Not being a Russian speaker (as I believe some of our learned posters are!) and not having any particular interest in things Russian I was pleased to miss the R boys on the beach this time around. Never saw but one!

Have a look at this photo...
Umbrellas flutter, people relax! Its 2pm time for G&T

I believe the Russian invasion is limited to the northern winter months.

For sure, if any Russian wants sizzling tropical weather this month, he shouldnt be in Pattaya. He should stay home where his country is having a heat wave with Moscow temperatures reaching 38 degrees, according to the latest news.

It may be nice to have some Russian eye candy, but from my experience for every candy bar one spots, there are at least 10 more out-of-shape scenery wreckers.

What airlines would Russians take to Thailand (in addition to that charter flight mentioned)? Are there also Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, etc.? Also, "Russian" is a broad term. The blue-eyed, blond-haired are probably Ukranian (Kiev was a Viking settlement). Also, maybe people hear Czech or some other language, and think it's Russian.

at the cost of sounding condescending: the so-called 'east europeans' are not one big family. so if the russians prostitute themselves, it doesn't follow that the czechs and poles do so as well. and the footnote reg. russians in bkk: there are often a few russians in babylon (yes, it helps if u can recognize the langauge 'cause they don't carry russian flags on their chests); they're free and up for fun. the best looking caucasian guy i've seen in my life was a russian who visited a cosmetic clinic in silom. whether he was a professional model or a sex worker, i don't know. he definitely didn't look destitute.

Thai, Aeroflot and Transaero all have direct Moscow BKK flights.
Yes the Ruskies I have seen are mainly of caucasian origin rather than the slightly oriental eyed, broad faced eastern (Soviet/Mongol/ Steppe) varieties.

Darn...now I'll have to go hunting again to update my collection.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist that. But since the subject has cropped up, I noticed that not only were there many Russian restaurants in Phuket the last time I was there a few years back, but I've been told by my relatives that the Russians are also buying property on the island, same as at Pattaya.

I agree that it is dangerous to "essentialize" a population based upon anecdotal evidence. My Russian acquaintance is from Moscow, visiting Thailand for fun, and having plenty of it.

The only Russians on the beach today were 2 stranded whales of the female "babushka" variety :(

Nice Boys in Sunnee has closed down following a Police "sting" raid. A farang informant solicited an underage boy for sex in an upstairs room at the bar, and then called in the cavalry. The bar was "stormed" by police, narcotics and immigration officials resulting in 13 underage boys being detained and 15 others fined Bt 1,000 each for not carrying ID. One illegal foreign worker was also found. The Manager Khun Niroot was arrested and the owner is now being "actively sought" by police.

Doing the round of Sunnee last night, a lot of bars seemed depleted of boys - no doubt laying low until the heat passes.

Are there more bars in Sunnee which are known for their underaged boys? I do not want to go there...... of course.

Yes there are more, suffice to say.... Regardless of the bar you are offing someone, just check the ID if you have any doubts. If they don't have ID, drop them and move on.