The Olympic Flame was welcomed the city, located near the borders of both Ukraine and Belarus, with a 156-metre cloth decorated with Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian themes as dancers performed the national dances of the three Slavic nations.

Olympic shooting silver medal winner Pyzhyanov was the first to carry the Torch in the region as he set out along the street from the railway station, before Afanasyev - a first class military pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union, carried the Flame while riding on an iconic Russian troika.

Other sporting Torchbearers included judoka Vladimir Trusov, BMX rider Tatyana Kapitanova, powerlifter Sergey Sychev and European Wrestling Championship bronze medallist Svetlana Babushkina, while nominees from the Presenting Partners - Coca-Cola, OSAO Ingosstrakh and OAO Russian Railways - also took part.

The procession passed through the region, pausing at Ulyanov Square, before reaching the historic downtown by the evening.

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay was greeted in Bryansk with a 156-metre cloth decorated with Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian themes ©Sochi 2014


It then entered the Dinamo Stadium, with Turin 2006 cross country skiing champion Kurkina carrying out the concluding metres of the Relay's visit to Bryansk and lighting the Cauldron from her Torch.

The Olympic Torch will now continue its journey and travel to Kursk for the next stop.

The Relay, which Sochi 2014 claims will be within an hour's reach of 90 per cent of the Russian population at some point in the route, began on October 7 last year.

It is due to cover some 65,000 kilometres, travelling through 2,900 settlements of 83 regions of the country and will involve 14,000 Torchbearers before it reaches the Olympic Stadium for the Games Opening Ceremony on February 7.

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