Vessel repairs completed
The cruiser "Aurora" returned to its eternal mooring near Petrovskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg. The ship was being repaired at the Kronstadt Marine Plant. They began towing the Aurora at night so that the cruiser could pass under them when the main St. Petersburg bridges were being built. About half past two the ship passed under Blagoveshchensky, and then under the Palace and Trinity bridges. They towed it carefully and extremely slowly - from two o’clock in the morning until the morning, the tugs “aimed.” What is the best way to park a cruiser near Petrovskaya Embankment?
Thousands of St. Petersburg residents came to see the spectacle; the roads could not cope with the flow of cars. The situation was complicated by a change in the construction schedule for some bridges, which is why many spectators were unable to get close to the cruiser.
Due to weather conditions, the cruiser's towing time was postponed several times - initially, the Aurora's return from a two-year repair was planned during the day, but then experts noticed that it would be more successful to return it to its place at night, during the highest rise of water.
Right there, on the embankment, they were selling naval paraphernalia, from St. Andrew’s flags to vests; someone was waving a Soviet flag, standing on a granite side. Locals and tourists, children and pensioners. One of the pensioners, who met the cruiser in the front rows, remarked to the MK correspondent that she was seeing off and meeting the Aurora - because it was interesting, unusual, and there were a lot of people here. Festive.
After the restoration, the Aurora preserved its historical premises; in addition, the cruiser was equipped with the latest automation. The cruiser was built in 1896 - 1903, it took part in the Russo-Japanese War, survived the Battle of Tsushima and the First World War. It is believed that it was the Aurora’s blank shot on November 7, 1917 that gave the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace. During the Great Patriotic War, Aurora took part in the defense of Leningrad.
The legendary cruiser Aurora is back! On the night from Friday to Saturday, thousands of St. Petersburg residents and city guests came out to meet him on the Neva embankments. A SP correspondent was also among those greeting us. And she did not regret that on this cool summer night she preferred a two-hour wait in the drizzling rain for the raising of the bridges and the passage under them of a historical ship bearing the honorary title of 1st rank cruiser of the Russian Navy over a soft sofa.
The Aurora went into repairs almost two years ago—September 21, 2014. By that time it was urgently needed. The Russian Ministry of Defense allocated 824 million rubles for it. The city also took part, investing in the improvement of the Petrogradskaya embankment, near the cruiser’s eternal anchorage. A visit to which, by the way, will now be paid. The ticket price will be, according to preliminary data, 100 rubles. According to Smolny, this will help “organize visitors”, in the sense that they will treat the ship more carefully.
Almost 30 years have passed since the previous renovation to the beginning of the current one. This time it took place at the Kronstadt Marine Plant. 700 people - specialists of various profiles - took part in the work. At the dock, during an inspection of the ship, a crack was discovered on the hull below the waterline. It was brewed. Part of the deck needed reconstruction. On the Aurora it is unique - teak. The material is very expensive. Therefore, only damaged areas were replaced. The main task of the repair was to preserve as much as possible the historical appearance of the ship.
The deck is, of course, not visible from the embankment. Especially at night. By the way, it turned out to be quite dark due to hanging clouds. The stronger the impression from the cruiser that appeared at one thirty through the open spans of the Blagoveshchensky Bridge. Next to four tugboats, as well as escort boats, which led it first along the Sea Canal to the Neva, and then along the Neva itself, it seemed like a giant - powerful, its armor reflected in the beams of searchlights, there were cannons on board, smoke was pouring out of the chimney, and St. Andrew's flag is flying on the mast!
The entire crew of the ship was at that moment, as is customary for sailors when returning home, on the deck: the ship’s commander, three officers, five midshipmen and eighteen lucky sailors of conscript service. The entire crew is military. Now he is responsible for the safety of the berth, for order on board, and for ensuring that the deck is always polished. Civilian employees will only be in the museum.
The sailors of the Aurora stood on the deck in one line, looking at the embankments filled with greeters. And those greeting us, people of all ages - from children to the elderly - shouted “Hurray!”, applauded, and launched multi-colored balloons and fireworks into the sky. No one had any questions about why it was necessary to sail the ship at night (it left Kronstadt at 21:00)? Isn’t it easier during daylight hours, as it was in September 2014, when he went to the dock? The answer was given ahead of time: building three central bridges in the middle of the day is both an expensive and troublesome pleasure, given the congestion of our crossings, including public transport. And whoever, they say, wants to meet the Aurora, they thought at Smolny and at the Admiralty, will come at night. That's exactly what happened.
At the same time, many townspeople, as well as tourists, took care of a “convenient observation deck” in advance. What did the businessmen help them with? When the date of the cruiser’s return and the schedule for its river passage became known, proposals immediately appeared. From hoteliers - rent a room with a view of Petrogradskaya Embankment (prices from 3.5 to 6,000 thousand rubles per night). From owners of private boats - 10,000 rubles for an hour and a half of “escorting the Aurora” along the Neva (with the usual cost of a night trip being 3-4 thousand rubles per hour). From taxi drivers who promised to “deliver directly to the ship”, despite the fact that all the bridges leading to the ship’s parking area were raised from half past two to 5 in the morning...
In anticipation of this truly exciting and solemn event, the “SP” correspondent spoke more than once with captain of the first rank reserve Igor Kurdin, who at one time did a lot to return the cruiser to the Russian Navy and organize its repairs. Igor Kirillovich is the founder of the St. Petersburg Submariners Club, famous throughout the country, an advisor to the governor on a voluntary basis and the head of the Aurora Board of Trustees. In recent months, journalists have literally been at their wit's end. Everyone wanted to know the details of the repair and return of the historic ship. Despite his crazy busy schedule, Kurdin found at least a minute for everyone.
“SP”: Many people are interested in why the Aurora had to be towed; couldn’t it go under its own power?
- Can not. The Aurora has no propellers. True, there is a steering wheel, historical, made of bog oak, upholstered in copper. And - a historical car, restored during a previous renovation. But this is still more of a mock-up, the machine is not operational.
“SP”: At one time there was talk about putting her on the move, then sending her on a patriotic mission on a sea voyage...
- Yes, there was such a project, but they abandoned it. In my opinion, they did the right thing.
"SP": But does it have its own control system?
— “Aurora” is now equipped with the most modern video surveillance and security system. And in this sense, it protects itself very reliably.
“SP”: So, for example, roofers who once entered a cruiser and tried to raise a pirate flag on the mast are now unlikely to be able to repeat this dubious “feat”?
— I don’t advise roofers to “mess with” the ship. Yes, they are unlikely to succeed now. Moreover, the Aurora is a military facility, and the crew is allowed to shoot to kill in case of an emergency.
"SP": For many, the cruiser "Aurora" is a symbol of the 1917 revolution. And for you?
— In 1970, I took the military oath here. I still dream about “Aurora” almost every night.
Over the next two weeks, the cruiser will be connected to all necessary technical support lines. The formation of a museum exhibition will also be completed. The grand opening of the museum is scheduled for Russian Navy Day, July 31. If previously most of the exhibition was devoted to the events of the October Revolution of 1917, now it has been expanded and supplemented with documents and exhibits from the time the ship was laid down, its participation in military campaigns of the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars and foreign campaigns of the 1920s. until the present period.
The historical infirmary was also restored on the Aurora. By autumn it will be complemented by a model of an old X-ray machine. It was our cruiser that was the first ship in the Russian fleet to use x-rays.
Help "SP"
The Aurora was laid down by the Russian Naval Ministry in 1897 along with two other ships in the series of fast cruisers - Pallada and Diana. People immediately began to call them “goddesses of the Russian fleet.”
The cruiser was built at the New Admiralty in St. Petersburg and launched in 1903. It received its name in honor of the sailing frigate, which became famous during the defense of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky during the Crimean War.
The main weapon of the Aurora was the 152-mm rapid-fire guns of the French engineer's system Gustave Canet, capable of firing 10 rounds per minute at a distance of up to 11 km.
"Aurora" took part in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 - 1905, in particular in the Battle of Tsushima; in the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War (in the defense of Leningrad). The “historic shot” towards the Hermitage in October 1917 is a legend that the cruiser owes to the Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein. For the 10th anniversary of the Socialist Revolution, he shot the film “October” (in foreign release “Ten Days That Shook the World”), in which “for beauty” the “story with a shot” was heard for the first time. What one of the cruiser’s officers told the readers of the city newspaper in the same 1917: “Citizens of Petrograd! We didn’t shoot at Zimny.”
In 1956, a branch of the Central Naval Museum was created on the cruiser.
The current status of the cruiser: ship No. 1 of the Russian Navy. It is part of a brigade of ships under construction and repair, which, in turn, is part of the Leningrad naval base of the Baltic Fleet.
The legendary cruiser Aurora, which became a symbol of the October Revolution of 1917, returns to its eternal mooring at Petrovskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg. On the morning of July 16, 2016, St. Petersburg residents and guests of the Northern capital will see the updated Aurora in the center of St. Petersburg.
The ceremonial farewell to the famous cruiser for restoration in Kronstadt took place on September 21, 2014. Then this event was watched by hundreds of thousands of people who had previously chosen the most convenient places on the city embankments. But the city authorities decided to return the Aurora at night, which, however, will not become an obstacle for those who want to be the first to see the updated ship. Taking into account the still ongoing white nights and the fact that Saturday is ahead, there will be many spectators watching the return of the ship.
The path of the Aurora from Kronstadt to St. Petersburg
The final preparations for the passage of the museum ship have been completed (they have already gone through all corners of the ship with a vacuum cleaner), on July 15 at 15:00 a solemn meeting will begin at the plant, and at 21:00 the Aurora will leave the docks of Kronstadt. The cruiser (remember that it cannot move under its own power) will be led by five tugboats at once to its eternal mooring. According to the plan, the ship should pass under city crossings during the so-called first bridge raising. Around midnight, the Aurora will enter the Sea Channel. Passage under the Blagoveshchensky Bridge is scheduled at 01.35-01.45. Next is the Palace Bridge - at 01.42-02.00 and Trinity Bridge - at 01.50-02.15. At approximately 02.00-02.30 hours the ship will begin to be placed on barrels. Discussing the plan to return the Aurora to its eternal mooring site, Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko said: “I hope we will all meet with you at what I think is a beautiful event of moving the cruiser to its mooring site. The white nights will not end yet. Beautiful". By the way, during the passage of the Aurora along the Neva, the illumination will be turned on. But the crew of the ship also asked all St. Petersburg residents who would come to the embankments and watch the return of the legendary cruiser to highlight the return of the Aurora either with flashlights or mobile phones.
If suddenly something goes wrong (for example, the water level begins to fall, which was also assumed by the tugboats), then an alternative option will be used: the Aurora will reach the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, where it will be temporarily parked on the side of the English Embankment.
After the ship is moored, the installation of the ladder will begin, which, by the way, weighs about 17 tons, and on the morning of July 16, the cruiser-museum will begin to be connected to all communications and prepare for the official grand opening scheduled for the coming days.
Restoration of "Aurora" 2014-2016
The current restoration of the cruiser is far from the first, and, apparently, not the last. The amount spent on restoration work is 840 million rubles. A total of 17 enterprises were involved in the repair, modernization and restoration of the cruiser, and all work was carried out under the control of the selection committee, which included, among other things, the military.
The cruiser "Aurora" has been at the Kronstadt Marine Plant since September 2014, where it was sent to repair and modernize ship systems and update the museum exhibition.
During this time, part of the deck was replaced, the ship's hull itself was examined, cleaned and painted. The crack, which was discovered above the waterline under the porthole, was cleaned and welded, and the lifeboats were restored. The cruiser's diesel generators, located in the engine room, also underwent a major overhaul.
All fittings, mechanisms, tanks and tanks were carefully examined, cleaned, repaired and painted.
During the restoration, the security and fire extinguishing systems were updated, and the interior was refinished.
Among the innovations: a special place for a salute cannon appeared on the deck of the cruiser, which makes it possible to launch fireworks directly from the deck of the ship during the holidays. At other times, the cannon will be removed so as not to spoil the historical appearance of the ship. Another “sign of the times” - Wi-Fi will work on the updated cruiser.
Preparations for the departure of the museum cruiser to Kronstadt for repairs The museum cruiser Aurora must undergo docking every 5-10 years to monitor the thinning of the hull. By the way, experts say that since the last repair in 1984, there has been no wear and tear on the underwater part of the hull.
And with proper maintenance, the ship, and its hull has been strengthened, will last at least another 50 years.
Aurora exposition: what's new
Before the restoration of the Aurora, the exhibition presented on the cruiser in six halls was entirely dedicated to the events of the Great October Revolution of 1917. And after the return of Aurora, there will be nine halls, six thematic blocks, and the number of exhibits on display will double. The exhibition itself will become interactive; the museum has been equipped with multimedia equipment, including a holographic theater. The events of 1917, the history of the cruiser, the participation of the Aurora in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the First World War and the Great Patriotic War, the service and life of personnel, naval medicine - you can now get acquainted with all this by visiting the updated "Aurora".
All maneuvers, taking into account the dimensions of the cruiser, with the raising of bridges and tacking in the fairway, were successful. Thousands of citizens watched the mooring. Participated in the ship's escort our correspondent Oleg Kuzmichev:
Salute, Aurora! With fireworks and flares - towards the cruiser. Even if you get wet to the skin, you will be the first to see that she is coming back.
Although the towing of the Aurora was not widely advertised, everyone in St. Petersburg knew about it. And the first to meet the cruiser right at the Kronstadt Marine Plant were aquabikers. It turns out that they are the first to see the restored cruiser.
Of course, Aurora was missed in St. Petersburg. After all, in September 2014, she was taken away for 45 days, then the repairs were extended for a year, and almost all of it was two. So someone didn’t wait and went straight to the meeting in the Gulf of Finland.
It's own horn - though it's from the speakers. And a real St. Andrew's flag. It was the fleet veterans who prepared for the meeting of the cruiser. The Aurora salutes in response, lowering the flag once is a maritime salute.
Nikita Pozdnyakov, retired captain 1st rank: “This is like a symbol of the union of eras - old and new, old Russia and new Russia - as a symbol of the transmission of tradition. We can only rejoice at this, this is a great day. More precisely, a great night."
In order not to raise the bridges during the day - for St. Petersburg this is a real collapse - they decided to return the Aurora during the usual wiring. But this night is still special for bridge mechanics. It seems that you need to press the same buttons, but someone specially arranged a shift to get to the Aurora.
Fyodor Grebennikov, shift supervisor at the Palace Bridge:“This time we’ll look at the night wiring. It will be possible to compare what is more interesting - daytime wiring with Aurora or nighttime. Let’s hope that the Aurora will not fire a blank shot.”
The most striking moments of towing the Aurora are just the passage under the bridges. In some places, the spans from the cruiser are no more than 10 meters. Thousands of spectators gathered on the central embankments to see and remember this. Well, when will this happen again - the Aurora crew is standing on the deck, and the Winter Palace is behind the sailors.
Ekaterina Nikitenkova: "Wow! I really liked it, it was a very positive emotion to see with my own eyes how the Aurora was carried across the bridge, it was very cool!”
Only in the morning did the Aurora finally arrive at its eternal mooring; the operation to return the cruiser from repairs took more than 7 hours. But now no one can say for sure - something is missing here. Now the puzzle is complete. This is exactly what this picture should look like, which has been missing a major detail for the last two years. Details, without which, let alone this composition, it is difficult to imagine St. Petersburg.
For more than a year and a half, the panorama of the Petrogradskaya embankment near the Nakhimov Naval School has been unusually empty: the legendary Aurora is missing here - the famous cruiser of the 1st rank, a participant in three revolutions and four wars, which tourists come to see not only from different parts of Russia, but also peace. Now the austere sea beauty is being repaired in Kronstadt, but in a matter of days she will finally return home.
The cruiser "Aurora" departed from its "eternal" mooring on September 21, 2014, when it was unmoored and towed to the dock named after P.I. Veleshchinsky Kronstadt Marine Plant. Before this, the famous ship had not left its usual address opposite the Nakhimov Naval School for almost 27 years - since its large-scale renovation in 1984-87.
It was previously reported that new repair work would take at least two years, and Aurora would return to its usual place by 2017. However, it later became known that the return of the legendary cruiser could be expected in the summer of 2016. And recently the exact date appeared - July 16.
How will the Aurora return to its usual place?
July 15 at 21:00 The cruiser "Aurora" will leave the Kronstadt Marine Plant, where the ship's repair work took place. According to plan at 21:30 the cruiser will proceed through the Forest Gate of the Kronstadt harbor, and in the morning will enter the Neva: it is assumed that at 04:35 the ship will cross the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, and in 04:45 - Palace. The cruiser will be deployed to Petrogradskaya Embankment until 10:00 on July 16. During the night from July 15 to 16, as well as in the morning, navigation in the Neva water area will be completely closed, and on the shore, traffic will temporarily stop on the section of the Petrogradskaya embankment near the Aurora parking lot and partially on the Pirogovskaya embankment.
The operation to transport the famous ship will be carried out by the Leningrad naval base of the Baltic Fleet with the assistance of four tugboats. Only the weather can interfere with the developed plan: if hydrometeorological conditions are unfavorable, after passing the WHSD bridge, the cruiser will temporarily moor at the Promenade des Anglais.
The cruiser’s “eternal” anchorage site is already ready for the return of its famous “tenant”: all the necessary bottom checks have been carried out, communication systems have been updated and roadstead equipment has been installed, and the Aurora pier - a 127-meter-long section of the Petrogradskaya embankment - has been transferred by the city for free use to the Central naval museum for a period of 99 years.
What changed on the Aurora during the renovation?
Externally, the Aurora has not changed significantly: the famous three chimneys, the guns along the perimeter - everything remains in place. At the same time, the cruiser's deck was partially replaced with a more durable and comfortable one, the hull was cleaned, inspected and repainted. The crack above the waterline under the porthole has been welded and cleaned; The lifeboats were restored, and the cruiser's teak rudder was restored. Internal repairs were carried out: cleaning, inspection, repair and painting of tanks and tanks, bottom-overboard fittings and mechanisms in contact with the external environment. The ship's diesel generators were overhauled in the engine room. In addition, the security and fire extinguishing systems were updated, and the interiors were refinished.
There is now a special place on the deck for a salute cannon, i.e. On holidays and special occasions, it will be possible to launch fireworks from the Aurora. In order not to disturb the historical appearance of the cruiser, the gun will be displayed only when necessary, and removed the rest of the time.
When the Aurora was just towed away for repairs, there was talk that the Soviet symbols would disappear from the ship, but later it was decided to leave them. Therefore, St. Petersburg residents and guests of the city need not fear that they will not recognize the appearance of the famous ship when it returns to Petrogradskaya Embankment. But the Aurora museum exhibition will undergo major changes.
What will be in the updated museum on board the cruiser Aurora?
Before the restoration, the museum's exhibition on the cruiser Aurora was entirely dedicated to the Great October Revolution. After the cruiser returns to the memorial site, a branch of the Central Naval Museum will be located here, as before, but the exhibition part will expand noticeably and will include 9 halls and 6 thematic blocks dedicated not only to the events of 1917, but and the history of the ship itself, the service and life of the ship’s personnel, as well as the cruiser’s participation in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the First World War and the Great Patriotic War. Also at the Aurora, the medical unit, where X-ray equipment was used for the first time in Russia, will be restored and made part of the exhibition.
The exhibition will become interactive: in addition to documentary materials and photographs, historical scenes will be recreated, mannequins of sailors, costumes, flags, ship utensils, and household items will appear. Visitors will be able to learn details about each of the exhibits from audio commentaries. In addition, Aurora also has a small hall for temporary exhibitions. Thus, the legendary cruiser will turn from a symbol of the October Revolution only into a monument to the history of the Russian navy as a whole.
Aurora will open to visitors after Navy Day, which is celebrated on July 31. It is by this time that it is planned to complete the design of all planned exhibitions. Among other things, Wi-Fi will work on the updated cruiser, so we can say that despite its venerable age, the ship continues to keep up with the times.
At the same time, the Aurora will operate not only as a museum: the cruiser is equipped with two cockpits for the ship’s personnel and two classrooms at the Nakhimov Naval School, where cadets will learn the basics of navigation.