The myth of the Aurora salvo was born immediately after the storming of the Winter Palace. However, on October 25, 1917, it was not a cruiser that fired at the palace, but the guns of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Volley of Aurora
On October 25, 1917, at about 21:40 minutes, the Aurora fired one blank signal shot. However, almost immediately after the storming of the Winter Palace, the myth of the ship's combat salvo was born. Such information began to appear in the press and literature. American journalist and writer John Reed, a witness of the October Revolution, in his book "Ten Days that Shook the World" (published in 1919), noted: ". The bombing did not cause any other damage."
Later, the version that the legendary cruiser was hitting the palace with war shells became generally accepted. In the "Short Course on the History of the CPSU (b)" of 1938 it was noted: "The cruiser" Aurora "with the thunder of its cannons aimed at the Winter Palace, announced on October 25 the beginning of a new era - the era of the Great Socialist Revolution." The performances were staged about this event, in 1965 the film “Aurora Volley” was released. Alexei Tolstoy wrote in his novel "Walking through the agony": "The Winter Palace is empty, pierced through the roof by a shell from the Aurora."
In the reality
Before the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks dominated the cruiser Aurora. The sailors of the Baltic Fleet became one of the main striking forces of the revolution. Therefore, the crew of the cruiser took part in the armed uprising in Petrograd. On the afternoon of October 25, 1917, the head of the field headquarters of the rebels, Antonov-Ovseenko, instructed the ship's crew to fire a couple of blank shots from a 6-inch gun. Also, part of the crew went ashore from the ship to participate in patrolling the city. On the radio from the ship was transmitted the appeal written by V. I. Lenin "To the citizens of Russia!" At about 21:40 gunner Yevgeny Ognev fired one signal shot from a six-inch jacket. It is believed that he became the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace.
In the following days, reports began to appear in the newspapers that the ship was firing at the palace with live shells. These reports were immediately denied by the Aurora team. So, on October 27, 1917, the editorial board of the Pravda newspaper received a letter from the ship's crew. It protested against the accusations that cast "a stain of shame on the cruiser crew," which allegedly killed civilians. It was noted that if a warship fired live shells, then "the fire from the cannons would not leave a stone unturned, not only in the Winter Palace, but also in the streets adjacent to it." The crew confirmed that one blank shot from the 6-inch gun was fired, which was a signal for all ships stationed on the Neva.
In addition, many researchers of the storming of the Winter Palace noted that the "Aurora" simply could not shoot at this object. Firstly, due to the location of the ship, it could not conduct effective fire. Secondly, before the revolutionary events, a major overhaul began on the cruiser and all ammunition was removed.
The fire was led by the Peter and Paul Fortress
It should be noted that the defense of the Winter Palace was unsatisfactory. Before the assault, a small handful of cadets and invalids, the Knights of St. George, part of the 1st Petrograd women's death battalion remained in the garrison. At the same time, part of the garrison dispersed and fled already before the assault: the Cossacks, part of the cadets, artillerymen and an armored detachment. Also, the command did not organize the defense of the building at all, the supply of the garrison. Countless palace corridors and passages were not guarded; the military did not even have a building plan. Therefore, the battle was generally stupid shooting, from which only a few people died.
In the end, the Bolsheviks simply found places where there were no guards at all and entered the building without resistance. After wandering for some time along the corridors of the palace, the Antonov-Ovseenko detachment reached the Malachite Hall in the early morning of the 26th. Hearing voices in the next room, the Red Army men opened the door to the Small Dining Room. There were the ministers of the Provisional Government who had moved here from the Malachite Hall. They were arrested.
Earlier, at about 11 pm, the Winter Palace was fired upon from the guns of the Peter and Paul Fortress. 35 shots were fired, and only two barely caught the building. Obviously, the gunners did not want to shoot at the palace itself and deliberately fired over the top of the building. As a result, most of the shells fell on the Dvortsovaya Embankment, and fragments broke several glasses in the Winter Palace.
Interestingly, a hospital was opened in the Winter Palace itself in 1915. For the wounded, it was decided to take the ceremonial halls overlooking the Neva: the Nikolaevsky hall with the Military gallery, the Avan-Hall, the Field Marshal and the Heraldic Hall. As a result, the eight largest and most beautiful ceremonial halls on the second floor were converted into hospital wards. In October, a grand opening of a hospital for 1,000 people took place. It was named after the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. In the Nicholas Hall were located those struck in the head, neck, chest and spine; in the Armorial Hall - with wounds in the abdominal cavity and thigh, etc. Also on the ground floor were located doctors' offices, a reception room, a pharmacy, bathrooms, etc. The hospital was equipped with the latest science and technology of that time. On October 27-28, 1917, the Winter Palace hospital was closed, the patients were distributed among other hospitals in the capital.
