Cruising Sonata: how the Aurora is serving today
The legendary cruiser Aurora celebrates its 125th anniversary on May 24. He took part in the Russian-Japanese, World War I and the Great Patriotic War, and in the events of the October 1917 revolution. Not everyone knows, but the ship continues to be in service today. It is listed as part of the Baltic Fleet, and a real naval crew is serving on board. How the sailors serve on the cruiser and what unique museum exhibits can be seen on board — in the Izvestia material.
How does the crew of the cruiser Aurora serve?
The modern crew of the legendary cruiser consists of 30 people — officers, midshipmen, sailors of military service. Their daily routine on the Aurora is practically the same as that of the crews of modern ships. Their duties include maintaining the entire ship, ensuring safe parking, explosion and fire safety, and unsinkability. And besides, ensuring the safe visit of the cruiser by guests who board," Captain 2nd Rank Yuri Shishkarev, commander of the Aurora battle Glory cruiser, told Izvestia.
Ship maintenance has its own specifics. There are many small-scale mechanisms on it that require painstaking work. The upper deck is covered with teak wood, and its maintenance also has its own characteristics. In addition, there are many brass products on the ship, and this requires daily close attention. The ship is always in plain sight, so the crew must carry out meticulous work every day and keep it in such a condition that it can be proud of.
Conscript sailors live on board the cruiser all the time. There are cabins on the living deck. In addition, there are classrooms for lectures and practical classes on the ship. They prepare food in the galley and receive it in the canteen of the team.
For conscripts, service on the Aurora is a reason for special pride.
"We are trying to recruit guys from different remote parts of Russia," says the ship's commander. — When they retire to the reserve, we do not lose touch with them. Many remain in St. Petersburg. Some of them later come to visit with their children and wives, and they always visit with warmth. The crew is small, it's like a family, so the communication is very warm. And after completing the service, I hear feedback not only from the guys themselves, but also from my parents. They are proud that their son served aboard the legendary cruiser.
On the day of the ship, the crew holds a solemn formation, the raising of the St. Andrew's flag and flags of color, and congratulations to the personnel.
— As a rule, it falls on a weekday, a working day. It is associated, of course, for the personnel and with the daily routine. Therefore, as they say, it's a holiday for everyone, but for us it's hard work," says Yuri Shishkarev.
What can be viewed on board the cruiser Aurora
Part of the ship's premises is occupied by a branch of the Central Naval Museum named after Emperor Peter the Great on the Aurora cruiser.
The exhibition is located in several halls. The first one tells about the general history of the cruiser Aurora. The second hall tells about the life and everyday life of the lower ranks of the Russian navy. Here you can see hanging tables and sailors' bunks, dishes, and the famous wine cup. The third is dedicated to the history of the Aurora at the end of the 19th – early 20th century, and the cruiser's participation in the Russian-Japanese War. The fourth is the history of the cruiser during the First World War, the Revolution, the Civil War, and the interwar period. The fifth hall houses an exhibition dedicated to the Great Patriotic War and the ship's service in the post-war years, when it was the training base of the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. The sixth is the temporary exhibition hall. The seventh is an open storage room, which houses the Aurora ship temple and materials with views of the marine cathedrals of St. Petersburg.
The eighth hall is the office of the ship's doctor, which tells about the history of medicine in the navy. It displays a replica of the X-ray machine, which was used on the Aurora in a combat situation for the first time in the history of the Russian navy. In the ninth hall, the interior of the operational cruiser Aurora, which was used during the Battle of Tsushima, is reproduced. In addition, you can inspect the engine and boiler room of the cruiser.
— Visitors are interested in everything. The general history of the ship is interesting, and they take a regular tour. Someone is more interested in technology, and therefore people independently inspect the entire cruiser and buy an excursion to the medical and boiler room, " Yuri Sergaev, head of the TsVMM branch on the Aurora cruiser, told Izvestia.
For the anniversary of the cruiser, the museum has prepared a temporary exhibition dedicated to the 125-year history of the ship. She will show the entire battle path of the Aurora.
— We also plan to participate in the annual meeting of the descendants of the participants of the Tsushima Battle, as this public organization originated here, at our Aurora. We are hosting a lot of guests these days. We will expect a lot of schoolchildren," says Yuri Sergaev.
One of the museum's most valuable exhibits is a photo portrait of the cruiser's commander, Captain 1st Rank Evgeny Romanovich Yegoryev, who died during the Battle of Tsushima. The ship's officers produced his portrait on board. The photo was removed in passepartout from the pierced hull of the cruiser, and a frame was made from the burnt planks of the deck. The image was presented to the son of his commander. In 1956, Rear Admiral Vsevolod Evgenievich Yegoryev of the Soviet Navy presented this portrait and his father's telescope to the TsVMM branch at Aurora.
— We have a wonderful museum item — the sanitary bag of Vladimir Alekseevich Veselov, who was a paramedic during the Great Patriotic War on a cruiser. A unique item. There are wonderful examples of Russian and Japanese weapons, which we are pleased to show in the anniversary year of the Great Victory," said Yuri Sergaev.
In the engine and boiler room, visitors are told how the sailors kept watch in 70 degrees of heat. And on the upper deck you can see the main caliber — 14 rapid-firing six-inch Kane artillery systems. In the surgical block, an interactive sketch is shown, voiced by the memoirs of the ship's doctor of the Aurora V.S. Kravchenko — bandaging, helping the wounded in the Battle of Tsushima.
But visitors to the Aurora cannot see the galley — this is the territory of the ship's crew, and it is used for its intended purpose. The stateroom does not belong to the museum either - conferences are held in it from time to time.
The history of the Aurora cruiser begins on May 23, 1897, when the third "goddess" of the Russian Imperial Navy, Aurora (her older sisters Pallada and Diana), was laid down on the slipway of the New Admiralty (now the Admiralty Shipyards).
On May 11 (May 24), 1900, the ship was launched. The Aurora belonged to the class of armored cruisers of the 1st rank.
The task of such a ship is to serve with the squadron of the main forces, conduct reconnaissance, and operate on ocean communications.
As part of a group of ships of Rear Admiral Andrei Virenius, on September 22, 1903, she sailed to the Far East. The Russian-Japanese war, which began on January 27, 1904, caught the cruiser in Djibouti. The group was recalled to Russia.
The Aurora went to the Far East for the second time as part of the 2nd Pacific Squadron. During the Battle of Tsushima, she received a number of hits from Japanese shells, suffered casualties among the personnel, and the commander of the cruiser was killed.
In the evening, the detachment of cruisers Oleg, Aurora and Pearl, having lost the main forces of the squadron, turned south and reached the Philippines, where they were interned until the end of the war.
During the First World War, she participated in combat operations in the Baltic Sea. The ship, which was well worn out, was put into repair in Petrograd in September 1916. On October 25 (November 7), 1917, at 21:40, with a blank shot from the 152-mm tank gun, which gave the signal for the October revolution, the cruiser forever inscribed itself in history.
After the end of the Civil War, the cruiser was returned to service. The Aurora made a number of trips in the 1920s. In the 1930s, the ship was already quite outdated and became a non-self-propelled floating training base. In the late 1930s, the issue of decommissioning was considered, but the Great Patriotic War prevented it. The cruiser was in an unseaworthy condition in the port of Oranienbaum.
The guns and personnel removed from the ship took an active part in the fighting. The ship itself, having received a number of hits, lay down on the bottom. It would seem that its history is over, but in August 1944, the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers' Deputies adopted a resolution according to which the Aurora was to be installed at the Petrogradskaya Embankment as a museum-monument to the history of the fleet and a training block for the Leningrad Nakhimov Naval School. The cruiser was raised and transferred to Leningrad for restoration. On November 17, 1948, the Aurora was transferred to its final berth on Bolshaya Nevka.
In 1960, the cruiser became a monument protected by the state. On February 22, 1968, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Red Banner cruiser Aurora was awarded the Order of the October Revolution, becoming the only twice-decorated ship in the country. The order depicts the cruiser itself. The cruiser was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on November 2, 1927.
In 1984-1987, the cruiser underwent major repairs. Since July 1, 2013, he has been part of the crew of ships and submarines under construction and repair at the Leningrad Naval Base of the Baltic Fleet. The cruiser is named "Ship number 1" of the Russian Navy and is a branch of the Central Naval Museum.
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