October 1917 changed the life of our country forever. On this day there was an armed uprising and an illegal seizure of power, which will later go down in history as the "October Revolution".
The emperor and his family will be killed, the Bolsheviks will come to power and create a new country of the USSR, plunging the people into terror, repression and active construction of socialism.
The October Revolution took place in Petrograd, and the city has preserved many evidences of those events. We talk about them in the article.
Cruiser Aurora
One of the most famous "witnesses" of the October Revolution is the cruiser Aurora. The ship was built in 1900 and became one of the main ships in the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Empire.
On the night of October 25-26, 1917, Aurora fired a signal shot, which became the signal for the beginning of the storming of the Winter Palace, where the government of the country was sitting. This shot is considered the beginning of the October Revolution and a symbol of the struggle of the proletariat for power.
Winter Palace
Another witness of the revolution was the Winter Palace, which was considered the center of political power of the Russian Empire. On the night of October 25-26, 1917, the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located.
The Winter Palace is a symbol of power, so control over it was very important for them.
The mansion of Matilda Kshesinskaya
The Bolsheviks illegally settled in the mansion of the famous ballerina in 1917. The building was located in the center of the city, in convenient positions, so the revolutionaries, intimidating Kshesinskaya, forced her to leave the mansion and turned it into their headquarters.
Now there is a Museum of political history, which presents exhibits related to the revolution.
Finlyandsky Railway Station
In April 1917, a huge crowd gathered on the territory of the Finlandsky railway station – followers of the ideas of the Bolsheviks. All of them joyfully and to the sounds of the orchestra greeted the locomotive on which Vladimir Lenin arrived.
Vladimir Ilyich climbed onto an armored car and read out his fiery speech, further inspiring people to take decisive action.
The October Revolution and the USSR can be treated differently. After those events, St. Petersburg (then Petrograd) lost its status as the capital, a little later the city was renamed Leningrad, and only decades later it regained its original name.
Nowadays, many buildings and streets where clashes and demonstrations took place remind of the revolution. Be sure to sign up for a thematic tour and visit interesting places together with a guide. And to make your vacation in St. Petersburg not only rich, but also comfortable, book a room at the Teatralnaya Ploshchad Hotel. We offer our guests first-class service, attentive staff and many additional services.
