Russia's brightest students were rewarded for their scholarly achievements with their first Vienna ball in Moscow on Saturday (May 29), in a throw-back to a bygone era of imperial splendour.
The glitzy ball is back for the first time in two years after being cancelled last year due to coronavirus fears.
As per tradition the event was opened by debutantes, with 100 young couples, aged between 18 to 26, all of whom had either graduated with honour from their schools or received university accolades.
Good grades are not the only prerequisite for an invite at the ball. Young hopefuls must undergo an elimination process to make it to the dance floor in gowns and black tails.
Coronavirus curbs have meant that the number of guests allowed into the event had to be slashed from 2,000 to 1,500, said organisers. All attendees were also required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result or vaccine certificates, according to the event's website.
Austria's ball tradition is proving a popular export, with Viennese balls also established in cities such as Johannesburg and New York.
Russia on Sunday (May 30) reported 9,694 new coronavirus cases, the highest number since the end of March, which took the national tally to 5,063,442 infections.
