Bryansk Oblast

Bryansk Oblast is a region in Russia's Chernozemye region, bordering Belarus to the west, Smolensk Oblast to the north, Kaluga Oblast to the northeast, Oryol Oblast to the east, Kursk Oblast to the southeast, and Ukraine to the south.

• Bryansk — the more-than-1,000-year-old capital of Bryansk Oblast was badly damaged during WWII, but retains many pretty churches; exceptional for a Russian city, it has leafy ravines cutting through its hilly center
• Dyatkovo — a town that became the center of regional partisan opposition to the Nazis and is also the national center for lead-crystal (glass) art
• Klintsy — a small city, but nonetheless the region's second largest, that has preserved in its center a notable collection of 19th century architecture, including some rather impressive merchants' and officials' houses
• Mglin — home to the massive early 19th century Uspensky Cathedral, which somehow avoided destruction throughout WWII and Soviet rule; it has recently been renovated and its coat of paint looks fresh enough to eat
• Novozybkov — this small city is a contemporary center of the Old Believer Sect of Russian Orthodoxy, having been founded by persecuted Old Believers, and contains several important Old Believer churches

• Bryansky Forest Nature Reserve — a peaceful marshy forest