The Aurora cruiser is one of the main symbols of the October Revolution. On November 7, 1917, at 21: 40, the cruiser Aurora fired one salvo from the bow gun, which served as a signal for the soldiers to storm the Winter Palace in Saint-Petersburg. All the key points in the city were already occupied by the Lenin`s soldiers (Bolshevists). It remained only to capture the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located. So it became the main symbol of the October Revolution.
The 1st-class armored cruiser Diana-type was launched in 1900. Emperor Nicholas II personally chose the name for it in honor of the Roman goddess of dawn "Aurora". In those years, this cruiser was an ordinary warship that was intended for service in the Pacific ocean. Russia needed new ships for a possible war with Japan. The displacement of the cruiser Aurora is 6730 tons. The length of the hull is 120 meters, width-16 meters. The personnel of the cruiser Aurora reached 570 people.
During the Russian-Japanese war, the cruiser Aurora took part in the battle of Tsushima in 1905. Rozhdestvensky`s squadron was then completely defeated. However, after the battle, the cruiser Aurora and several other ships managed to escape from the enemy. Later, the cruiser Aurora made several long trips. The team helped the Italians eliminate the consequences of the Messinian earthquake in 1908. During the First World war, the cruiser Aurora only sporadically participated in combat operations.
After the February revolution, the team supported the Bolshevists. This led to a conflict with the captain, who was killed. After that, the cruiser actually came under the command of the Bolshevists. During the October revolution of 1917, the sailors were assigned to enter the Neva river and fire a shot, which was the signal to storm the Winter Palace.
Today, the cruiser Aurora is the No. 1 ship in the Russian Navy. This title was awarded to him in Soviet times, and has since been preserved. The cruiser Aurora is moored on the Petrogradskaya embankment near the Nakhimov navy school, opposite the Summer Garden. Now it is a Museum and there are always a lot of people here. There are always a lot of people here. Visitors can walk along the deck, approach the gun that fired the shot, and go down to the hold. There is a Museum dedicated to the events which the cruiser Aurora took part.
