At Lev Tolstoy (previously known as Astapovo) train station there is an old clock. The clock face has a forged body and a floral ornament along the edges. The dark frame goes well together with the red-brick station building. However, the clock’s hands do not move. The clock always shows the same time – 6:05 a.m. is it broken? Not at all. The clock is a symbol of the loss that world culture suffered in November 1910.
It shows the time of Leo Tolstoy’s death. The legend has it that the clock stopped by itself at the moment of the writer’s death. There is, however, no proof of that, so it is up to everyone to decide whether to believe the story or not.
Under the clock there is a plaque with an inscription “The clock stopped at 6:05 a.m. on 7 (20) November 1910, when the heart of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy stopped beating”. The number in brackets is the date according to Gregorian calendar (the so-called new style).
