Pinsk, city in southern Belarus, in Brest Oblast. Pinsk is located at the confluence of the Pina and Pripyat' rivers, at the eastern end of the Bug-Dneprovskiy canal connecting the Bug and the Pripyat' drainage systems. The Poles'ye (or Pripet Marshes), the largest swamp in Europe, begin immediately to the south. The city is 166 km (103 mi) east of Brest and 282 km (175 mi) west-northwest of Chernobyl', the site of the worst known nuclear reactor accident. Pinsk is a major river port. Agriculture products of the area include corn and hemp, while local forests of oak and pine support woodworking industries. Pinsk also has significant shipbuilding and repair facilities. Pinsk is on the rail line and highway that roughly parallel the southern boundary of Belarus east of Brest (Belarus). Pinsk was founded in the 8th or 9th century; it was first mentioned in the Russian manuscript, “Tale of Bygone Years” in 1097. Part of Lithuania from the 13th to the 16th century, Pinsk became part of Poland in 1569 as a result of the Union of Lublin that united Poland and Lithuania. It was ceded to Russia in 1793. Shortly after World War I (1914-1918), Pinsk again became part of Poland until it was captured by the Soviet Red Army in September 1939 at the beginning of World War II. The German army occupied Pinsk from July 1941 to July 1944, when it returned to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became part of independent Belarus. Population (1996 estimate) 107,729.
