For the Russian people, Smolensk, Tver, Oryol, Bryansk and other ancient names of Russian cities mean a lot. These names, pleasant to hearing, in themselves are capable to designate milestones of history of Russia.
A city with more than a thousand years of history
There are several answers to the question: “Where is Bryansk?” The first and main answer is in Russia, on the East European Plain. In the most important documentary source of the history of Russia - the Ipatiev Gazette - the first mention of Bryansk dates back to 1146. In it, it is called Dyabryansk. The discoveries of archeology, in particular, excavations carried out in Soviet times on the Chashinsky mound, allow us to talk about an even earlier foundation of the city, naming the date 985.
It turns out that Bryansk is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It seems that the exact historical date of its foundation has not been established, but the city celebrated its millennium in 1985.
Central Russian Upland - the central part of European Russia
A refined answer to the question: “Where is Bryansk?” it will be like this - the city is located on the western edge of the Central Russian Upland, which is part of the East European Plain. There is a watershed between the three seas - the Azov, Caspian and Black. Bryansk is also located on the watershed of the two largest rivers in Europe - the Dnieper and Volga. From the Central Russian Upland the rivers Don, Desna, Oka and smaller rivers flow down - Vorskla, Psel, Seim.
And more precisely to the question: “Where is Bryansk?” can be answered as follows. Where the tributaries of Snezhit and Bolva flow into the beautiful Desna, Bryansk is spread on both its banks, which in numerous verses dedicated to it is called the birch homeland, the birch land. Rivers and forests surround this primordially Russian city, which in 2010 was awarded the title “City of Russian Glory”.
Where Bryansk is located, all kinds of trade routes intersect. This explains the desire of many warring parties over the centuries to include it in the composition of different states. For example, there was no agreement between Great Russia and the Commonwealth, where Bryansk was not mentioned as a separate item. Subjected to repeated complete destruction by the enemies of our country, the city of Russian glory was revived and became even more beautiful.
The formation of the regional center
At the end of the XIX century, Bryansk became a large industrial center of Russia. Despite this, the city was part of other provinces and regions. Only after his liberation from the Nazi invaders - in 1944 - the Bryansk region was formed.
Three independent states converge at a point located near the one where Bryansk is located. The map shows that he, like Smolensk, is now, in essence, a border town. Throughout the history of Russia, these cities have always taken the blows of the enemy, always gave names to the victorious roads along which the invaders fled. Everybody knows the Smolensk road, as well as the Bryansk street leading west, from the song of L.O. Utesov. Many also know about the partisan movement in the Bryansk forests. By 1943, in the partisan detachments of the Bryansk region, there were about 40,000 people. Thanks to this movement, Soviet power was already restored in 1942 in a certain area surrounding the city.
After the war, Bryansk began to develop rapidly. In two years (1956-1958), such large industrial enterprises as a car factory and an enterprise for the production of irrigation machines, the Desna factory and the worsted combine were opened in the city. There are enterprises of the woodworking and pulp industry, as the city is surrounded by forests, which are famous not only for the partisan movement, but also for their beauty, variety of flora and fauna.
Nature reserve
Only where the city of Bryansk is located, in the forests surrounding it, there are today all 10 species of European woodpeckers. And this is the only place on the mainland. Naturally, now the majority of Bryansk forests are nature reserves, one of which is called: Physico-geographical area of Nerusso-Desnyanskoye Polesye. And its component is the Bryansk Forest, which was taken under the protection of UNESCO in 2001. These forests are mostly pine-oak, but broad-leaved trees are found alongside the prevailing spruce. The very rich and diverse flora of the Bryansk Forest Reserve explains the formation of a federal reserve on its territory with a total area of 39,100 ha under the name Kletnyansky.
Desna - the pride and favorite of the residents of Bryansk
Desna - the river on the banks of which Bryansk is located - originates on the Smolensk Upland. This is the longest tributary of the Dnieper. In Russia, it flows through the territory of two regions - Smolensk and Bryansk. On the land of the latter, in addition to forests, there are forest-steppes, swamps, lakes, one of which was glorified by I. Turgenev in “Notes of the Hunter”. The entire Bryansk region is a hills and plains. In some verses about Bryansk it is said that the city is asleep, "having tucked up the blankets on the hills." Figurative expression. The presence of hills and plains is explained by the place where the city of Bryansk is located. It is called the Russian plate - it is the central part of the East European platform. Millions of years formed the current landscape. And it is itself a landmark in this region.