On June 23 all Moscow school-leavers get dressed up to officially say goodbye to childhood.

At school, in the first and ceremonial part of the celebrations, teachers hand out high-school diplomas and say some nice words about their students.

After that the school-leavers go out to party with their classmates.

Traditionally, on this day Russian girls wear old-fashioned Soviet style school uniforms: short brown dresses with white aprons, white socks and big white bows. Later they change into evening dresses.

Moscow authorities prohibit selling alcohol on graduation day in any of the city’s shops, but school-leavers still manage to get drunk on the wild mix of champagne and vodka.

After that, they walk around the city, bathing in fountains, vomiting in the streets, taking pictures of each other and generally enjoying themselves.