According to the old Russian style calendar, the revolution occurred in October, however with the new calendar, the Revolution date is celebrated on the 7th of November. Around this date, you may see older residents who are still loyal communists, will emerge into the streets with banners and flags to remember this day. There are still some places around the city where you can catch a glimpse of the past…. 

The Preparations 

On the night of the 24th of October (7th November), the Red Guards of Lenin began gathering in the city. Filled with revolutionary fervour and spurred on by the oratorical genius of their leader, they were readying themselves for change. Smolny Institute, the headquarters of the Bolsheviks, became a hive of activity: vans were arriving to deliver people and supplies, printers were churning out posters to distribute around the city announcing the downfall of the Provisional Government. This was the beginning of ‘The October Revolution, Red October, The Great Socialist Revolution of 1917 as the Communists preferred to call it, or the Uprising of the 25th, and what most of us now refer to as the Russian Revolution. While the citizens of St Petersburg slept on the night of the 24th, their lives and those of all Russians were about to change. Lenin himself had only just returned from hiding for the second time and after months of chaos and power struggles, the mass desertions from the army, he had decided the time was right. In the early morning the Bolshevik troops occupied strategic points around the city. They took over the railway stations, the telegraph office, bridges, post offices and the State Bank. 

Storming the Winter Palace 

Tradition has it that the Avrora cruiser, whose sympathetic crew, fired the warning shot at 9pm across the Neva to signal the beginning of the uprising. By the evening of the 25th, troops had occupied the Winter Palace, by this stage; only a small number of Cossacks, some recruits and a battalion of female soldiers were defending the Palace. Soldiers trekked through the polished halls of today’s Hermitage with their muddy boots and two husky bearded peasant soldiers were stationed at the entrance way to guard the palace. Should you visit the Hermitage, picture these scenes as you wander through the carefully polished halls and ornate surroundings. In the days following, the Second All Party Congress of Soviets met to ratify the revolution officially and Lenin’s famous decrees ‘Peace’ and ‘Land’ were made. The rest as they say is history… 

Sights, statues, stations

Communist ceiling – Moscow Station. This is one of the city’s best but least noticed examples of communist “art”. It is also easy to find, find it in the main entrance hall of Moscow Station – you just need to look up. The colourful ceiling mosaic makes you feel as if you are lying on your back in the sun. This is a great feeling given the weather this month! Look for the Olympic Flags in the ceiling as well, this symbol identifying the time of construction as the fifties, when the Soviet Union began competing in the Olympics. 

Lenin at Finlyandsky 

If Lenin is your man, there are plenty of opportunity for a bit of Lenin spotting. Finlyandsky was the site of Lenin’s famous return from exile in April 1917, travelling in a sealed carriage which was a gift from Finland. After arrival, Lenin then climbed on top of an armoured car to deliver his rallying speech calling for revolution. Out front, a majestic statue of Lenin points the way to a radiant future, and at the entrance to the adjacent metro stop there is another mosaic of Lenin. 

Lenin Statues 
If statues are your thing, try to see some of the remaining statues scattered around town. Start off at the Botanical Gardens on Petrograd Island, cut across town to see Smolny Institute where you’ll find statues of Lenin, Marx and Engels. More statues can be found at Ploschad Lenina and Ploschad Moskovskaya (Moscow Square). The Lenin statue here used to co-exist with Stalin but it has been a long time since statues of the Georgian stood here. You can see this one if you are on your way to the airport. 

Soviet City 
The city-planners of the Soviet era didn’t hold back when it came time to plan the city’s metro. While not the happiest areas of town, the area just south of the city incorporating the first line of the city's metro; from Ploschad Vosstaniya down to Avtovo station, does have some great examples of Soviet meglamonia, there is a school built in the shape of a hammer and a sickle (Stachek pr. 5.) Also there is a mural on the front of Narvskaya metro, which reads “Proletarians of all countries, unite!”  Ploschad Vosstaniya also has the city’s last public images of Stalin. When you come down the escalators, there are pillars on both sides of you. Stalin is shown on the second pillar to your left, and then again a bit further down, to your right. Cruiser Avrora This is where it all began. The ship fired a blank shot across the Neva to signal to the Bolsheviks that the Revolution should begin. The ship has become quite a landmark in the historical pages of Revolution. In a bid to protect it from invading troops, the Avrora was sunk during WWII and following that in the 1950’s, it was reconstructed and turned into a museum.