Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a

federal subject The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation () or simply as the subjects of the federation (), are the administrative division, constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political division ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(an

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

). Its

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

is the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161.

Geography

Bryansk Oblast lies in western

European Russia European Russia is the western and most populated part of the Russia, Russian Federation. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, Siberia, which is situated in Asia ...

in the central to western parts of the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountains, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, ...

, on the divide between the Desna and

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

. The

borders with

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

in the north,

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kaluga. The Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census found a population o ...

in the northeast,

Oryol Oblast Oryol Oblast (), also known as Orlovshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Oryol. Population: Geography It is loc ...

in the east,

Kursk Oblast Kursk Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Kursk. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a pop ...

in the southeast,

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

and

Sumy Oblast Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its modern-day form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presid ...

s of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in the south, and with

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

and Mogilev Oblasts of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in the west. Natural resources include deposits of

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

, and other building materials, as well as

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

. About a quarter of the total area of the oblast is covered by forests, mainly

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

, mixed, and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, as well as forest-steppe.

Bryansky Les Nature Reserve The Bryansk Forest Nature Reserve, also known as Bryansky Les (), is a nature reserve in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, along the Nerussa River (a tributary of the Desna River) near the Russian border with Ukraine. The forest is a nature reserve (zapov ...

is a biosphere reserve that protects, among other things, a limited population of

European bison The European bison (: bison) (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bi ...

Ecology

As a result of the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

on April 26, 1986, part of the territory of Bryansk Oblast (mainly Gordeyevsky, Klimovsky, Klintsovsky, Krasnogorsky, Surazhsky, and

Novozybkovsky District Novozybkovsky District () is an administrativeLaw #13-Z and municipalLaw #3-Z district (raion), one of the twenty-seven in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west of the oblast and bordered by Gordeyevsky and Krasnogorsky District in the ...

s) has been contaminated with

radionuclide A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

s. In 1999, some 226,000 people, representing approximately 16% of the oblast's population, lived in areas with the contamination level above 5 Curie/km².

History

The Venus of Eliseevichi is a piece of

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

art (dated to 14,000

YBP Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Because ...

) found in the region. The Eliseevichi site is also associated with the earliest recognized dog remains, dating to 15,000 YBP. In the 9th to 11th centuries AD

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

tribes lived along the banks of the

Desna River The Desna ( Russian and ) is a river in Russia and Ukraine, a major left-tributary of the Dnieper. Its name in means "right hand". It has a length of , and its drainage basin covers .Oka. The city of Bryansk was established in 985. Bryansk remained poorly attested until the 1237-1242 Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'. It was the northernmost of the

Severia Severia (, ; ) or Siveria ( / , ''Siveria'' / ''Sivershchyna'') is a historical region in present-day southwest Russia, northern Ukraine, and eastern Belarus. The largest part lies in modern Russia, while the central part of the region is the c ...

n cities in the possession of the

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

Rurikids The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the ...

and the

Principality of Novgorod-Seversk The Principality of Novgorod-Seversk or Novhorod-Siversk was a medieval Rus' principality centered on the town now called Novhorod-Siverskyi. The principality emerged after the central power of Kievan Rus' declined in the late 11th century, and ...

. After the Mongols murdered Prince

Mikhail of Chernigov Mikhail Vsevolodovich ( – 20 September 1246), known as Michael or Mikhail of Chernigov, was Grand Prince of Kiev (1236–1239; 1241–1243); he was also Prince of Pereyaslavl (1206), Novgorod-Seversk (1219–1226), Chernigov (1223–1235; 12 ...

in 1246 and his capital was destroyed, his son Roman Mikhailovich moved his seat to Bryansk. In 1310, when the Mongols sacked the town again, it belonged to the principality of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

. After the Mongols took Chernigov, the Principality of Bryansk was formed. In 1356 Bryansk territory was under the authority of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. The Great Duchy of Moscow conquered Bryansk following the

Battle of Vedrosha The Battle of heVedrosha (; ) was fought near the Vedrosha river, close to Dorogobuzh (then in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, now in Russia) on 14 July 1500, during the Second Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1500–1503). In the battle of Vedros ...

in 1503. The town was turned into a fortress that played a major role during the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

of 1598–1613. Bryansk became Moscow's south-western outpost in the fights against

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, and

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

. In 1618 the

Truce of Deulino The Truce of Deulino (also known as Peace or Treaty of Dywilino) concluded the Polish–Russian War of 1609–1618 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia. It was signed in the village of on 11 December 1618 and t ...

saw the southern and western area of the modern Bryansk Oblast ceded to Poland. After the annexation of the lands by the

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

in 1654, all the left bank of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

, including the south-western area of Bryansk, was divided into hundreds of administrative regiments. One of the largest was

Starodub Starodub (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets (river), Babinets River in the Dnieper basin, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975). History Starodub has been known ...

. In 1781, these regiments merged into districts and several territories.

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

() incorporated Bryansk into the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

, but Empress

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

deemed it wise to transfer the town to the

Oryol Governorate Oryol Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1928. Its seat was in the city of Oryol. Administrative division Oryol Governorate consisted of t ...

in 1779. She also promulgated the town's coat of arms. In 1709, part of the Bryansk ( Bryansky, Karachevsky, Sevsky, and

Trubchevsky Uyezd Trubchevsky Uyezd (''Трубче́вский уе́зд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Oryol Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the western part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Trubchevsk. Demographics A ...

s) belonged to

. In 1727, became part of the newly formed

Belgorod Governorate Belgorod Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire in 1727–1779 with its capital in Belgorod. In 1775–1779, as a result of the gubernatorial reform of Catherine II, Belgorod Governorate was di ...

. The 17th and 18th centuries saw a period of significant regional economic development. The industrial revolution began in the 18th century, particularly in the eastern part of Bryansk; due to its reserves of sand Bryansk saw the growth of the glass industry. On April 1, 1920, Bryansk Oblast was established but on October 1, 1929 it was incorporated into the

Western Oblast Western Oblast () was an administrative-territorial unit (''oblast'') of the Russian SFSR from 1929 to 1937. Its seat was in the city of Smolensk. The oblast was located in the west of European Russia, and its territory is currently divided b ...

. On September 27, 1937, the

Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union The Central Executive Committee of the USSR (), which may be abbreviated as the CEC (), was the supreme governing body of the USSR in between sessions of the All-Union Congress of Soviets from 1922 to 1938. The Central Executive Committee elec ...

decided to abolish the Western Krai, dividing it into Smolensk and Oryol Oblasts. The current territory of Bryansk Oblast became a part of

. In August–October 1941

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

troops took over the region. From the first days of occupation, the struggle against the invaders took on the character of a popular movement. In the Bryansk area about 60,000 guerrillas from the guerrilla units of

Sydir Kovpak Sydir Artemovych Kovpak (; ), (June 7, 1887December 11, 1967) led Soviet partisans in Ukraine from 1941 to 1944 during the Axis-Soviet War phase of World War II. Biography Kovpak was born to a poor Ukrainian peasant family in Kotelva vi ...

Oleksiy Fedorov Oleksiy Fedorovych Fedorov (, , ''Aleksey Fyodorovich Fyodorov''; 30 March 1901 – 9 September 1989), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian leader of Soviet partisan movement during Eastern Front (World War II), World War II. He was twice awarded the ti ...

and

Alexander Saburov Alexander Nikolayevich Saburov (; 15 April 1974) was one of the leaders of Soviet partisan movement in Ukraine and western Russia during World War II. Saburov was born on to a Russian peasant family in Yarushki, Vyatka Governorate (now part ...

operated. The fighting resulted in the destruction and burning of many towns and villages, affecting some 111,000 homes and many important industrial enterprises. After the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

liberated the area (August–September 1943), extensive restoration work commenced. A decree of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

established the modern Bryansk Oblast on July 5, 1944.Decree of July 5, 1944 On 4 July 1997, Bryansk, alongside

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

Magadan Magadan ( rus, Магадан, p=məɡɐˈdan) is a Port of Magadan, port types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the ...

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

, and

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

, signed a power-sharing agreement with the government of Russia, granting it autonomy. The power-sharing would be abolished on 9 August 2002. On 2 March 2023, the villages of Lyubechane and

Sushany Sushany () is a village (selo) in western Russia, located in the Klimovsky District of Bryansk Oblast. Geography The village is located in southwestern Bryansk Oblast, in the Polesian Lowland. It is near Russia's state border with Ukraine. I ...

were attacked by pro-Ukrainian forces during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

Administrative divisions

Economy

Transportation

A large railway junction is located in the capital of Bryansk. Most rail lines in the oblast are electrified, using AC power. In connection with the border situation, Bryansk there are several major customs terminals. The oblast is crossed by the M3 Moscow—Kiev highway and the M13 Bryansk-Novozybkov-Boundary Belarus—(Kobrin), and fourteen kilometers from the administrative center of the oblast is the Bryansk International Airport.

Exports

The top exports of Bryansk Oblast in 2021 were railway and trams (15.6%), iron & steel (10.8%), wood (9.74%), and paper articles (9.32%). Nearly half of exports (46.3%) were to Belarus.

Politics

During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, the high authority in the oblast was shared between three persons: the First Secretary of the Bryansk CPSU Committee (who in reality had the biggest authority), the Chairman of the oblast Soviet (legislative power), and the Chairman of the oblast Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, the CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the oblast administration, and eventually the governor, was appointed/elected alongside an elected regional parliament. The Charter of Bryansk Oblast is the fundamental law of the region. The

Bryansk Oblast Duma The Bryansk Oblast Duma () is the regional parliament of Bryansk Oblast, a federal subject of Russia. A total of 60 deputies are elected for five-year terms. Elections 2019 References Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Br ...

is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The Legislative Assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the Oblast Government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day-to-day matters of the province. The Oblast administration supports the activities of the Governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the oblast Charter under the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

. The current

governor of Bryansk Oblast The governor of Bryansk Oblast () is the highest official of Bryansk Oblast, a Federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. The Governor (Russia), governor heads the executive branch in the region and is elected by direct popular vote fo ...

since 2015 is Alexander Bogomaz, a member of the

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

party. He was re-elected in 2020, winning 71.7% of the vote.

Demographics

Population: Life expectancy in Russian subject -Bryansk Oblast

Vital statistics for 2024: *Births: 7,371 (6.5 per 1,000) *Deaths: 16,312 (14.3 per 1,000) Total fertility rate (2024):
1.14 children per woman Life expectancy (2021):
Total — 68.67 years (male — 63.57, female — 73.88)

Settlements

Ethnic composition

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

- 96.7% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

- 1.1% *

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

- 0.4% *

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

- 0.4% *

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

- 0.3% *

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

- 0.1% *Others - 1% *26,825 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group. Source:

Religion

According to a 2012 survey 49.5% of the population of Bryansk Oblast adheres to the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, 4.7% are unaffiliated

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

, 0.8% are Orthodox Christian believers who don't belong to any church or are members of other (non-Russian)

Orthodox church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

es, and 0.7% are adherents of

Rodnovery The Slavic Native Faith, commonly known as Rodnovery and sometimes as Slavic Neopaganism, is a modern Paganism, modern Pagan religion. Classified as a new religious movement, its practitioners hearken back to the Slavic paganism, historica ...

(Slavic folk religion). In addition, 36% of the population declares to be "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), or less commonly "more spiritual than religious", is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not reg ...

", 5.4% is

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 2.6% follows other religions or did not give an answer to the question.

Culture

There are seventeen museums in Bryansk Oblast. The main cities have many major architectural and archeological monuments. In Bryansk is the Svenski monastery, Chashin mound (the birthplace of Bryansk), the ancient Kremlin of Bryansk on Pokrovskaya Mountain, Peter and Paul monastery etc. Main churches include the Voksresenskaya, Vvedenskaya, and Spaso-Grobovskaya, Pokrovskaya and Gorne-Nikolskaya.

Klintsy Klintsy () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Turosna River, southwest of Bryansk. Population: 60,000 (1972). Administrative and municipal status Within the subdivisions of Russia# ...

is the second-largest city of Bryansk oblast. It was one of the

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

' centers, now known for its textile industry and ancient temples.

Trubchevsk Trubchevsk (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Trubchevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located about south of the city of Bryansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History An old Severian town, Trubchevs ...

is noted for its archeological and architectural monuments, in particular the Trinity Cathedral of the 13th-19th centuries with its tomb. The museum contains some valuable items dated to the 6th-7th centuries.

Sights

"'Church of the Ascension in the village of Veliky Bor'" The supplier on the hill of intermediaries is the compositional center of his development. Year of construction of the church (by order of Count Bezborodko) - 1809. By now, the side porticos and the top of the bell tower have been lost. An interesting example of a cross-shaped manor church in the style of mature classicism. Around the building were comparatively short sidearms, which were slightly protruding rectangular altars ending in a lowered semicircular apse. The originality of the composition is given by a large light quadrangle towering over the center with a tetrahedral dome cover and a small dome on a cubic pedestal. A small refectory with one window on the side facades is adjoined by a preserved quadrangle of the bell tower. A profiled belt bypasses all facades of the building at the level of the apse cornice. Four Tuscan pilasters decorating the ends of the side arms correspond to the columns of the lost porticoes. Between them, in the center, there are side entrances marked with triangular sandrids, and on the sides - rectangular windows. Above the openings, there are, respectively, an oval and two round niches. A large semicircular three-part Empire-type window is cut in the upper part of each quadrangle facet. The tier of the bell tower is decorated with large flat-arched niches in the center of the facets, rusticated corner parts to the waist, and round niches-medallions above it. In the interior, all the side parts are completely open into the high central one, forming a single space of the temple. The central part is covered with a four-lane closed vault, the altar is covered with a conch, and the altar vima, the side arms, and the refectory are covered with cylindrical vaults. The lower tier of the bell tower with rounded inner corners has a corrugated vault along the north–south axis. On the sides of the trapezoidal passage to the refectory, there are small rooms with a staircase in the southern one. Only the plaster cornices at the base of the vaults and at the top of the main quadrangle, as well as pilasters between the windows on the north and south walls, have survived from the interior decoration.

Heraldry

The Flag of Bryansk Oblast represents a panel burgundy with a ratio of 1:1,5. In the center of the cloth is placed the coat of arms of the Bryansk region and includes a hammer and sickle up top. The coat of arms is a blue shield representing Slavic unity between the states of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. In the upper part of the shield is a stylized golden spruce with a three-tiered crown representing the forests of Bryansk. The flag is

burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

in color, representing the color of the banners under which the army and guerrillas fought for the liberation of Bryansk.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2011 States and territories established in 1944 Oblasts of Russia