Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Laurentian Codex records the year 1102 as the moment Barysaw first appeared in written history. Prince Rogvolod Vseslavich of Polotsk established this settlement on the banks of the Berezina River that same year.
King Sigismund II Augustus granted Magdeburg town rights to the city in 1563. This legal status allowed local merchants greater autonomy and shaped the urban layout for generations.
French commanders feinted at crossing directly through the town while secretly constructing wooden bridges north of the city at a location called Studianka. These structures were built to allow their army to escape pursuing Russian armies near the Berezina River.
Nazi Germany occupied Barysaw starting on the 2nd of July 1941 and maintained control until the 1st of July 1944. During these three years, most of the city center was systematically destroyed by retreating German forces.
Forty-one large factories operated in Barysaw by 2002 including Borisov Plant Avtogydrousilitel which manufactures power steering systems and Rezinotekhnika which makes rubber components. Specific plants also include match factory named Borisovdrev and pasta plant called BoriMak.