During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the Aurora took part in the Battle of Tsusima, but that’s not why it’s a famous ship.
On the night of October 25-26, 1917, crew members on the Aurora fired a blank shot at the Winter Palace (then the residence of the Provisional Government), giving the signal to workers, soldiers and sailors to storm the palace. This single shot marked the beginning of the October Revolution.
The Aurora also served as a type of Bolshevik radio station. Vladimir Lenin announced the success of the Bolshevik Revolution in a wireless broadcast from the Aurora. He had the wireless operator on board the Aurora send out the information in a series of Morse Code broadcasts.
Kate and myself with the forward deck gun that shot the famous blank shell.
The gun in a revolutionary era photo.
Related posts:
- Russia: The Hermitage, Winter Palace, and Palace Square in St. Petersburg Palace Square Palace Square, under restoration for St. Petersburg’s 300th anniversary. Two very important events occured on Palace Square. The first of these events was “Bloody Sunday,” the catastrophe that initiated the Revolution of 1905. On the morning of Sunday, January 9, 1905, thousands of striking workers, including their wives...
- Russia: Views of St. Petersburg from a helicopter “You’re doing WHAT?!” That was my mom’s reaction when I informed her that some friends and I were taking a helicopter tour of St. Petersburg. I tried to convince her that the Russians make some of the best helicopters in the world, but she wouldn’t stop worrying until I called...
- Russia: The Bronze Horseman and Decembrists’ Square in St. Petersburg The most famous statue of Peter the Great is the Bronze Horseman. The monument was meant to be a tribute by Catherine the Great to her famous predecessor on the Russian throne. The monument depicts Peter leading the way for Russia while his horse tramples a snake, which represents Peter’s...
