BYELEV, a town in the province of Tula in the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic, on the left bank of the Oka river. Lat. 53° 48' N., Long. 36° 9' E. Pop. (1926) 12,794. It has an annual fair trading in grain, hemp, oil, cattle and tallow, and has tallow, oil, tanning, sugar refining and distilling industries. It is first mentioned in 1147, belonged to Lithuania at the end of 14th century and in 1468 became a principality dependent on Lithuania. At the end of the 15th century it began to attach itself to the Grand-duchy of Moscow and was united to Russia by Ivan III. It was repeatedly attacked by the Tatars in the 16th century. The Empress Elizabeth died here whilst going from Taganrog towards Leningrad. Its public library (1858) is a memorial to the poet Zhukovsky, who was born in 1782 in a neighbouring village.