The Aurora cruiser served in the Russian Fleet from 1903. It saw action in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the Russian Civil War (1918-1922), and in both world wars.
The Aurora is considered the principal symbol of the 1917 Revolution. According to the popular account of the uprising, the cruiser fired a blank shot to spark the Bolshevik storming of the Winter Palace, the seat of the Provisional Government.
After WWII, the cruiser became a training base for the Nakhimov Naval Academy.
On Nov. 17, 1948, the cruiser was permanently anchored at the Petrogradskaya Embankment in central St. Petersburg and became a museum. The Aurora reopened for tourists in 2016 after nearly two years of repairs.
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.
Subscribe
to our newsletter!
Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox
