a city in the center of Baranovichi Raion, Brest Oblast, Byelorussian SSR. It is a major railroad junction on the Baranovichi-Poleskie line. Population, 102,000 in 1970, compared to 27,400 in 1939.
Baranovichi was originally a village that arose in the 1870’s; from 1894 it was a district city. After the union of Western Byelorussia with the Byelorussian SSR, it was the center of Baranovichi Oblast from 1939 to 1954. From June 1941 to July 1944 the city was under German fascist occupation. Industry, particularly machine building, has grown rapidly in the city; there are factories for automobile assembly, machine-tool construction, commercial machine construction, and building parts and a factory and combine for reinforced iron-concrete construction. There is light industry (a cotton combine; sewing, lingerie, and shoe factories) and food industry (canned meat, flour, and bread combines; a brewery and a dairy factory). Baranovichi also has technological and light industry technicums, medical and musical colleges, and a museum of local lore.