Bryansk

Capital city of Bryansk oblast (region), in the western Russian Federation, 350 km/217 mi southwest of Moscow on the Desna River; population (1996 est) 463,000. Bryansk is a major industrial city, producing steel, locomotives, rolling stock and other machinery, cement, clothing, timber and foodstuffs. Electricity is supplied locally by a large peat-fired power station, and natural gas is piped from Dashava and Shebelinka. Bryansk is the site of a major Russian military base.

Bryansk was founded in 985 by Prince Vladimir, and was first documented in 1146 as a fortress and capital of a principality. From 1356 it was Lithuanian, from 1500 Muscovite. Peter (I) the Great established a shipbuilding factory here in the 18th century. Since the 1860s it has been the centre of the region's industrial area. The city was occupied by German forces in 1941–43, and was a centre of partisan activity. Bryansk was badly affected by fallout from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Bryansk

Oblast (region) in the Russian Federation, southwest of Moscow; area 34,900 sq km/13,475 sq mi; population (1996) 1,480,000 (68% urban). The main cities are Bryansk (capital) and Klintsy. Situated largely in the Desna Polesye lowland, the region is partly covered with mixed forests; there are large peat deposits. Chief industries are engineering, cement production, glass, wool, and furniture manufacture; agriculture centres on the cultivation of grain, potato, and hemp, along with dairy-cattle and pig farming.