Bolshevik Revolution icon Aurora returns to St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The cruiser Aurora, which fired the shot that announced the start of Russia’s 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, has returned to its mooring in St. Petersburg after nearly two years of repair work.

The 116-year-old ship was pulled by tugboats up the Neva River early Saturday, watched by thousands of people along the river’s embankments. It had been undergoing work at the Kronstadt naval yard on an island in the Gulf of Finland.

The ship, now a museum, is one of the most popular tourist attractions in St. Petersburg.

A blank shot fired from one of the Aurora’s cannons on Nov. 7, 1917, signalled the start of the storming of the Winter Palace, which forced the Russian government to capitulate several hours later.

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