In Photos: Moscow State Technical University Sends Off Graduates in Soviet Tradition
Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU) on Saturday saw off graduating students in arguably the wackiest of Russia's university traditions.
Students stuff old lecture notes in modified laundry basins, which they then use to slide down the stairs of the university dorms and into a crowd of fellow students who spray them with beer.
Graduates then hitch the basins to a car that drives them across eastern Moscow's Izmaylovskiy Prospekt.
For protection, students wear helmets that are signed by classmates and instructors upon successfully defending their final thesis.
Here's a look at this year's celebration:
Students stuff old lecture notes in modified laundry basins, which they then use to slide down the stairs of the university dorms and into a crowd of fellow students who spray them with beer.
Graduates then hitch the basins to a car that drives them across eastern Moscow's Izmaylovskiy Prospekt.
For protection, students wear helmets that are signed by classmates and instructors upon successfully defending their final thesis.
Here's a look at this year's celebration:
A BMSTU graduate is doused in beer as a car drags him in a laundry basin.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
Graduates slide down the stairs of their dorm, where they are drenched in beer.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
A car drags graduates across eastern Moscow's Izmaylovskiy Prospekt.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
The tradition dates back to Soviet times, when BMSTU students graduated in winter — the basins made less noise sliding in the snow.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
Helmets are not only a safety measure but also an identifier of a BMSTU graduate.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
This year, one BMSTU graduate was seen riding in a ceramic bathtub.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
BMSTU students line up to modify wash basins to use as makeshift sleds.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
Smoke bombs have been added to the basin-riding custom in recent years, making the display even more festive.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
Helmets can prove essential, as not all BMSTU graduates manage to hold on to their laundry basins.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
Students barely hold back their excitement after six years of study.
Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency
