Russian statesman Vasily Tatishchev established a fortress named Stavropol in 1737 on the banks of the Volga River. Rising waters from the Kuybyshev Reservoir created by the dam construction in the 1950s completely flooded the original location of Stavropol.
Authorities renamed the relocated settlement Tolyatti after Italian communist politician Palmiro Togliatti following his death in August of that year in Yalta. The name change served as an official honor from the Soviet government for the deceased political figure.
The establishment of AvtoVAZ transformed Tolyatti into Russia's primary automobile manufacturing hub starting with the VAZ plant chosen in 1964. This facility employed approximately 110,000 people at its peak production years and became known globally as symbols of Soviet industrial might.
For practical administration purposes, the city divides into three distinct districts including Avtozavodsky district, Tsentralny district, and Komsomolsky district. Avtozavodsky district was designed to host workers of the AvtoVAZ factory while Tsentralny district functions as the home of city government and the main industrial center.
Officials launched the Tolyatti Special Economic Zone in 2011 to develop the region further through international partnerships. Project investment totaled 10 billion Rubles while creating around 3000 jobs during that period.
Between 1998 and 2004, fifty-five commissioned killings occurred within the city limits alone with five journalists dying during this period of intense violence against media workers. A bomb exploded on a passenger bus during morning rush hour on the 31st of October 2007 killing at least eight people and injuring about fifty others.