Lev Tolstoy (rural locality)

This article is about rural locality. For the Russian novelist after whom it was named, see Leo Tolstoy.

53°13′N 39°27′E

Lev Tolstoy railway station in 2010

Lev Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Толсто́й) is a rural locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Lev-Tolstovsky District of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.^[1] Population: 8,875 (2021 Census);^[2] 8,650 (2010 Census);^[3] 9,035 (2002 Census);^[4] 9,139 (1989 Soviet census).^[5] Until 1932 it was known as Astapovo.

History

Astapovo railway station, built in 1891 on the intersection of the Kozlov–Volovo and Moscow–Yelets routes,^{[citation needed]} was named after a nearby selo of Astapovo (Аста́пово), which was founded later than the mid-17th century.^[6] The name derives from the masculine first name Ostap.^[6] The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy fell ill at the Astapovo station and died here on November 20, 1910.^[6] To commemorate this event, the station was renamed Lva Tolstogo (Льва Толсто́го) in 1918.^[6] In 1932, the name of the station and of the settlement was changed to its modern form.^[6]