October Revolution
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.
According to the Soviet account of history, on 25 October 1917, Aurora refused to carry out an order to put to sea, which sparked the October Revolution. At 9.45 p.m on that date, a blank shot from her forecastle gun signaled the start of the assault on the Winter Palace, which was to be the last episode of the October Revolution. The cruiser's crew allegedly took part in that attack.
Read more about this topic: Russian Cruiser Aurora
Famous quotes containing the word revolution:
“Fascism was a counter-revolution against a revolution that never took place.”
—Ignazio Silone (1900–1978)