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Russ car that has ended up in a ditch after a collision in May 1963

#1960s #russ #russebuss #russebil #tradition #youth culture #norway #photographer: johan brun

Russ car competition at Bislett, Oslo, 1958

Russ are Norwegian high school graduates. You are russ from late April until the Norwegian national day 17th of May. As russ you wear russ garb; overalls/jumpsuits you decorate, and for special occasions, the russ student cap. Traditionally russ also had a bamboo cane. The russ clothes are color coded after your specializations: red for general studies and blue for economics. Rarer versions are green for agriculture and black for vocational studies.

The student cap have a long string with a tassel and during the russ periode the russ can do different challenges and pranks that all are rewarded with special tokens that are tied to the string on the cap. This is called russ knots. For example if you eat a Big Mac in two bites you tie a piece of the wrapping on your string, or if you buy a condom at the store only using mime you tie the receipt. Other knots can be to be an enthusiastic tour guide on a local bus ride, wear bread as shoes for a whole school day and sleep in a tent in a teacher’s garden. Others are more controversial and dangerous and are about drinking huge amounts of alcohol or have sex in specific ways.

Many russ also have their own transportation; a party vehicle like a car, van or in recent times a whole bus (russebuss). Having a bus is mostly usual in the cities and suburbs. These vehicles are decorated (often by graffiti artists) after a chosen concept. Many also go as far as having merch made like jackets and hiring producers to make songs for the bus. The russ compete in competitions throughout the periode, which is why they invest so much money in the projects. This is a part of the celebration that has been wildly escalating through the 90s up til today.

While children usually love russ and mobs them to collect russe cards (joke calling cards) the celebration is controversial among adults. There have been attempts at curbing it by moving the final exams to coincide with the russ period in the hope that russ would party less and rather focus on studying (this was not surprisingly rather unsuccessful). In the 2000s having huge concert venue style sound systems on the roof of the russebuss became the norm, and most people spent the month of May being sporadically woken up by EDM music so loud glass shook when the buses drove by. Playing music outside while driving is no longer legal for obvious reasons, but the music inside the buses is still played so loud that it awakens people on a regular basis. Loud music in the night is truly a sign of spring for most Norwegians.

#oslo #russebil #russ #russebuss #1950s #youth culture #photographer: bjørn fjørtoft #disclaimer: the runners of this blog are from bærum and speak from our perspective and experience #the russe traditions are very different across the country so this may not be reflective of every norwegian's russe experience

A self-made russ vehicle, Oslo, 1963

#1960s #russ #russebil #russebuss #russefeiring #oslo #youth culture #photographer: johan brun