Aurora is a 1900 Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved
as a museum ship in St. Petersburg. She battled the Japanese
Navy in the Russo-Japanese War. One of the first incidents of
the October Revolution in Russia took place on the cruiser
Aurora. During the First World War the ship operated in the
Baltic Sea. In 1915, her armament was changed to fourteen 152 mm
(6 in) guns. At the end of 1916, the ship was moved to Petrograd
(the renamed St Petersburg) for a major repair. The city was
brimming with revolutionary ferment and part of her crew joined
the 1917 February Revolution. A revolutionary committee was
created on the ship, with Aleksandr Belyshev elected as its
captain. Most of the crew joined the Bolsheviks, who were
preparing for a Communist revolution. On 25 October 1917, Aurora
refused to carry out an order to put to sea, which sparked the
October Revolution[citation needed]. At 9.45 p.m on that date, a
blank shot from her forecastle gun signalled the start of the
assault on the Winter Palace, which was to be the last episode
of the October Revolution. The cruiser's crew took part in the
attack. |