Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, 379 kilometers southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. The first written mention of Bryansk, as Debryansk, dates to 1146 in the Kievan Chronicle. The name appears variously as Дъбряньск, Дьбряньск, and in other spellings. Etymologically, it derives from "дъбръ", a Slavic word for "ditch", "lowland", or "dense woodland"; the area was known for its dense woods, of which very little remains today. Local authorities and archaeologists, however, believe that the town had existed as early as 985 as a fortified settlement on the right bank of the Desna River.
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