The ironclad cruiser Aurora is a monument to Russian shipbuilding and the history of the Russian Navy, a veritable relic of the 1917 revolution. In 1957 it was converted into a museum.

 
The Smolniy Institute, now the Mayor's Office, was built 1806-08 to house the Institute for Young Noblegirls, but gained its notoriety after the Petrograd Soviet moved here in August 1917. For the 74 years of Communist rule, the word "Smolniy" was synonymous with the Revolution and the Party.

The Smolniy Museum nowadays accommodates several exhibitions: "The Smolniy Institute is the first state educational establishment for girls in Russia", "The Smolniy Institute during the October Revolution of 1917" and " The Smolniy Institute during the siege". During the tour you will visit the room of Lenin, from where he ran the Revolution.