BRYANSK

also spelled Br'ansk, or Briansk, city and administrative centre of Bryansk oblast (province), western Russia, on the Desna River just below its confluence with the Bolva. First mentioned in 1146, it stood in an important strategic and geographic position on the trade route between Moscow and Ukraine, and it was a stronghold on Russia's southern frontier in the 16th century. Bryansk is now a major industrial centre with large-scale and varied engineering, building-materials, cement, and consumer-goods industries. Six rail lines lead to Moscow, Vyazma, Smolensk, Gomel, Kiev, and Oryol, via small industrial towns. Pop. (1991 est.) 458,900. also spelled Br'ansk, or Briansk, oblast (province), western Russia, with an area of 13,475 sq mi (34,900 sq km), in the broad basin of the Desna River. In the north and east are low hills with mixed forest cover, but elsewhere most of the land has been plowed. Agriculture, especially grain and industrial crops, is highly developed. Towns are small (except for Bryansk, the capital) and engaged chiefly in processing farm products and in engineering. The iron ore in the oblast has been exploited. Pop. (1991 est.) 1,464,000.