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Graduation parties to be held in Russian schools

Moscow has over 50,000 school-leavers

MOSCOW, June 23 (Itar-Tass) — Graduation parties will be held in schools across Russia on Saturday night. About 800,000 pupils have finished school this year. With the Unified State Exams finished for most of them, the school-leavers can finally put their textbooks away and enjoy summer and the start of a new life.

Moscow has over 50,000 school-leavers. Many of them will attend graduation parties in their schools. Others will take a boat ride on the Moskva River or go to restaurants or night clubs.

More than 10,000 youngsters will gather for the Moscow School Leaver -2012 Holiday that will be organized on Red Square for the first time. It will start at 01:30 on June 24 and will last until 6:00 in the morning.

First, the school-leavers will march across Red Square. Then, they will see the performance of Russian and foreign singers and music groups.

“I hope that through joint efforts we will create warm atmosphere and show that Moscow believes in its youth. It’s our first experience in organizing the event in such an important place. I hope it’s going to be a good start for the future,” Veniamin Kaganov, the first deputy head of the Moscow department of education, said on Saturday.

More than 5,000 policemen will guard public order at graduation parties in Moscow on June 23 and 24.

In the meantime, higher educational establishments have started accepting documents necessary for enrollment. There are 428,600 budget places this year. Most universities will accept documents until July 25. Institutions of high learning which organize additional exams for the school-leavers will receive applications until July 10.

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