Russian time is out of control, politicians say. – The researcher says that these views have existed all along.

– This matter is not easy to change and there is no quick solution. It will be interesting to see how politicians will change this, says researcher at the Department of Sociology and Political Science Marius J. Feigen at NTNU.

“Broken bottles, piles of paper, sausages and half-eaten bread. Rødrussen has left its mark on Huk in an undeserved way,” Aftenposten wrote in May 1976.

Already in 1934, Avis from Haugesund had the headline “Fester russen for meget?”.

– It is expensive to attend all the parties given by the Russians, and therefore many will be left abroad, wrote the newspaper 1ste Mai in 1946.

The debate over Christmas time in Russia is not a new one, but the government now believes Christmas time in Russia is so late that it has announced a curb on celebrations through a series of measures.

These views of the Russian era have been around for a long time, says Anne-Sophie Heimdall, a senior researcher at Telemark Research.

Worried about parties in the 1850s

Hjemdal researched the history of the Russian era. She says that the Russian era has been around since the 1850s. At first it was a ritual associated with the university.

At that time, it was young men from the bourgeoisie who had enough money to go to university who were allowed to participate in Russian celebrations. Plus the occasional agriculture student, Hjemdal says.

– Even then there was interest in these young people getting together and celebrating.

During this period, the celebration of Russian continued in late summer until matriculation at the university, at the beginning of September.

From a suit jacket to a Russian suit

In 1905, Russian berets came and the Russian became part of the May 17 image, but even then it was the Russian era for the elite. Then May 17 marked the beginning of the Russian era, which lasted mostly until Sankthans.

Russian time only began to evolve into what we know today in the 1970s and 1980s, with Russian time beginning in April and ending on May 17.

Then came the democratization of the school system, as a result of the 1974 school reform, which meant that everyone could, in principle, be drunk – not just those with the money to do so.

Then jackets with stitched logos were also replaced by Russian suits. But this does not mean that the hierarchy of Russian times has disappeared, Khimdal says.

– Now anyone can be Russian, but you get a class divide within the Russian celebration, in a way. If you want to get on the bus, you have to bet. The higher the cost, the more pronounced these social divisions become.

From the focus on party to the debate on exclusion

Marius J. Feigen is a Research Fellow in Sociology at the Department of Sociology and Political Science at NTNU. He believes that the character of the Russian era has changed over the years.

The narrative around the Russian era has shifted from the focus in previous years on partying and drunkenness to a larger discussion of the exclusionary mechanism that occurs among Russians.

In the past 10 to 15 years, Feagin believes that exclusion in particular has become a growing problem, and points to two explanations for this:

1) Russians were excluded from public places by closing parks, parking lots and bars to drunks. When Russians cannot congregate in larger public areas in a cityscape, they must be divided into smaller groups to make room, as happens when groups unite to buy or rent Russian buses. Some can join bus groups or on rolling,rolling,More or less, wandering around aimlessly in a Russian bus or truck, while being stationary on board. While others end up abroad.

2) When Russian groups are formed, they create social media profiles. There they perform everything they do as if they were on stage. Thus, those on the outside always know what they are missing.

– There is no doubt that the Russian era is getting harsher, but you have to realize that it is an important rite of passage in Norwegian society. This is not easy to change and has no quick fix. It will be interesting to see how politicians change this, Feigen concludes.