Aurora Cruiser

The Aurora is an old Russian cruiser which was build in 1903 to be part of the Russian Baltic fleet. But after the Russian defeat to the Japanese in 1904 it was sent to the Pacific along with a large part of the Russian Baltic fleet. The Russian lost the battle and most of the ships they had sent out to the Pacific - but the Aurora managed to escape. After this it was returned to the Baltic and worked as a training ship for cadets in the Russian navy.

During World War I it was rearmed and used as part of the Baltic fleet once again. In the end of 1916 the ship were sent to Saint Petersburg for some major repairs. This meant it was present during the revolutionary turmoil in the Saint Petersburg at that time. Shortly after the February Revolution in Russia most of the ships crew joins the Bolsheviks working for a communist revolution in Russia.

This is what makes the ship special - its crucial role during the revolution. It was one of the guns on Aurora that fired a blank shot to signal the start of the storm of the Winter Palace during the October Revolution where the Bolsheviks under Lenin took over the city. Afterwards the Aurora has been awarded several major communist orders because of its participation during the revolution.

During World War II the major armament of the ship were taken of the Aurora and used in the defence of Leningrad. The ship were sunk during the war but later repaired. From 1956 it has been a museum for everyone to go and see. The fact it is free of charge mean there will always be a lot of visitors around the ship. People of all ages will walk around the deck looking at the big guns and go down below to look at the pieces at display - unless you know Russian you will mainly just be looking since all explanatory text is only Russian - but that will make your visit a lot faster.