Aurora Cruiser To Join Russian Navy Fleet On July 15

The Aurora cruiser, one of the most popular tourist attractions in St. Petersburg, will be handed over to the Russian Navy after modernization on July 15.

"The cruiser is ready by 100%. It will be returned to the Russian Navy on July 15. The people of St. Petersburg will see it at its traditional anchorage on Petrogradskaya embankment on July 16," a source at the Kronstadt marine plant told TASS on Monday.

The Aurora has been undergoing modernization, which is estimated at around 800 million rubles, since September 2014. It came into service with the Russian Navy in 1903. It covered more than 100,000 miles and took part in three wars. In Soviet days, it was believed that the Aurora salvo was a signal to the start of an armed uprising on October 25, 1917 (the Great October Socialist Revolution). The cruiser was badly damaged during the defense of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the Great Patriotic War against fascist Germany in 1941-1945. The ship was repaired and moored at Petrogradzklaya embankment in 1948.