Today, youth are criticized by everyone who feels like it. They say they do not want to study, dress inappropriately, and their behavior goes beyond limits. However, 120 years ago, young people were not known for their meekness either. In pre-revolutionary times, clothing was a valuable asset even in well-off families. New clothes were bought for the eldest child, while younger siblings wore hand-me-downs. Even gymnasiasts wore altered trousers, dreaming of new, custom-made ones. Resourceful young people figured out how to exchange old trousers for new ones. Gymnast Mikhail Dyumaev described a plan in his memoirs: they would choose a yard with a dog without a muzzle, belonging to a wealthy owner. They would tease the dog, it would snap back, and they would put a trouser leg in its way. Then they would enlarge the hole in the trousers and go to the city guard. The policeman would write a report stating that the dog owner had to compensate for the damage. This way, gymnasiasts updated the wardrobe of several friends.

Now about another case. Today, even at world premieres, cinemas are not always full, but 100 years ago, the main entertainment was the theater, and tickets were expensive. In one theater, local boys initially climbed over the fence, but soon a city guard was placed there, making it impossible to sneak in. The policeman let no one in and was rude in response. The youth decided to take revenge. They came up with the idea of dropping a wooden toilet that stood by the fence on him. They did just that: the gymnasiasts removed it from its place, swung it, and threw it over the fence. The embarrassment was grand, the performance had to be stopped, and the city guard no longer stood watch there.

There were also more harmless pranks, like shooting with slingshots and drawing obscene words on walls, but that is a completely different story.