Neighbors in a huff over Russian noise

NESODDEN/OSLO (Dagbladet): An unpredictable bass rhythm that carries over the fjord, grips the spine and steals several hours of sleep almost every day.

This is how the noise from the Russe celebration in the area by Hvervenbukta east of Oslo is described by residents on the other side of the Bunnefjord – on Nesodden.

They are tired when Dagbladet talks to them, after a week of reduced sleep.

– Several people say they don’t want to be a “grumpy old hag”, but I will be. I’m not even mad – I’m angry, so angry that I’m about to burst, says Gro Thoresen (70) to Dagbladet.

She has lived in an old house on the east side of Nesodden for 24 years, and lived with the party noise for a number of years. Every year, the joy of spring’s arrival is overshadowed by the accompanying night noise, which penetrates both walls and earplugs.

– If this had lasted for a few days, I would have given up, but it has only gotten worse over the years. It is too much and for too long, she says.

Goes beyond health

The neighborhood at Nesodden has been warning about the situation for several years.

They have spoken to the media, written editorials, contacted the police and politicians, but without this having led to change.

Helle Hoås (31) moved from Oslo during the pandemic. Then the noise was at a tolerable level, but two years ago it was back.

– It is a very penetrating bass, which reaches you to the spinal cord and activates a feeling of being chased, she says about how it is experienced.

It greatly interferes with sleep. Sleep difficulties are associated with impaired cognitive and intellectual functioning, and FHI believes there is evidence that nighttime noise can contribute to reduced health.

– For my part, it means that I get a very limited focus on work. Unfortunately, my partner and I also have a slightly shorter fuse during the day, because we both sleep poorly, says Hoås.

The two neighbors have both approached the police, who deal with such disturbances, about the noise at night. They are then directed to the East police district.

Exactly where the noise is coming from is somewhat unclear, but parts of the area belong to Nordre Follo municipality and East police district, while the rest belong to Oslo municipality and Oslo police district.

Both Oslo and Nordre Follo have closed car parks in the area, which have long been popular meeting places for Russians, to larger vehicles at night.

When Nordstrands Blad visited Hvervenbukta last Sunday, they saw clear traces of the Russian party, despite the barriers. The Russian cards left behind belonged to Russians from high schools in the area of ​​the East police district.

The police: – Much worse now than before

Section leader for the neighborhood police at Follo police station in the East police district, Marius Gunnerud, believes that the noise on Nesodden mainly originates from Hvervenbukta and Gamle Mossevei in Oslo, where Russians often stop at rest areas.

– We notice that the buses and facilities are getting bigger every year, and noisier than before. It is much worse now than it was around ten years ago, says Gunnerud.

He describes this as a challenge, which requires “quite a lot” of police resources. By the time they arrive after a noise report, the noisy Russian bus has often moved on. The mobility makes it difficult to act against the right bus.

Oslo police district has so far registered 97 cases in Russia, most of which deal with noise from Russian buses.

– It is a fairly similar number from year to year and mostly the same places where complaints are made every year, says communication adviser for the Oslo police, Steinar Wulfsberg-Gamre, by e-mail.

Both police districts note that they do not have the capacity to respond to all noise reports. It depends on other events in the areas.

The local police chief in Follo does not have a full overview of the number of complaints in his district, but states that they have so far received few reports about anything other than noise in connection with the Russian celebrations.

– It’s gratifying. In the past there have been a number of mass fights and rapes, of which there have not been so many now. It’s still early in the celebration, but we’re crossing our fingers that it stays that way, says Gunnerud.

Calls for political action

The neighbors at Nesodden believe that the responsibility for their spring nightmare should lie with politicians – both locally and nationally.

– Most Russians are eels, and it is unfair that a Russian president who is replaced every year should negotiate with a tired population. Society at a higher level must take responsibility. The Russian deserves a clearer framework. In this way, trust in them will also be restored, says Hoås.

She herself has considered traveling to her parents-in-law at Toten during the Russet period.

– But I have no guarantee of peace and quiet there either – this is a nationwide problem.

Going away is completely out of the question for her neighbour.

– I never want to travel in the spring. I’m not the one who’s going to leave here, because someone else is causing me discomfort. I don’t think the young people even think about the fact that the sound carries across the fjord. Someone has to tell them that, and in a proper way, says Thoresen.

Mayor: – Really bad

They are supported by Nesodden mayor Cathrine Kjenner Forsland (Ap), who states that she has been in dialogue with Oslo city council leader Eirik Lae Solberg (H) and Environment and Transport Council, Marit Vea (V), about the problem.

– It’s really bad. Measures that last must be put in place, says Forsland.

– What kind of measures do you envision?

– Now physical barriers have been set up, without that helping, but it is also about attitude-creating work. I think that dialogue is needed to find out how a sustainable situation can be created.

The mayor emphasizes that she wishes the Russians a proper celebration.

– We want them to enjoy themselves, but they could also enjoy themselves without the violent facilities, which are neither good for Russia’s reputation nor ears, she says.

Oslo municipality’s city council department for environment and transport tells Dagbladet that it is very complicated to enforce the problem the neighbors describe, as it affects many different areas and agencies.

Communications adviser in the city council department, Tor Audun Gram, says that it is primarily the Urban Environment Agency in Oslo municipality that is responsible for this with them.

– The role of the local sign and road authority gives limited access to regulate people’s behavior – including the Russians, writes Gram in an e-mail to Dagbladet.