[13] The city's rapid development commenced with the announcement in 1952 that a dam and hydroelectric plant would be built at Bratsk on the Angara River.

[4] The city of Bratsk was formed from separate villages, industrial and residential areas according to a 1958–61 masterplan.

[6][3] For administrative purposes, the city is divided into three districts (populations are as of the 2010 Census):[5] Residential districts of the city, some of which are separated by open country, include: Bikey, Chekanovsky, Energetik, Gidrostroitel, Osinovka, Padun, Porozhsky, Sosnovy, Stenikha, Sukhoy, Tsentralny, and Yuzhny Padun.

[16] In November 2013 the city council amended the charter to institute direct mayoral elections, which had been abolished in 2011.

Public transport includes buses and trolleybuses (only in the central district) The city's economy is largely reliant on heavy industry, including one of Russia's largest aluminum plants, lumber mills, chemical works, and a coal-fired power station.

In recent times, Bratsk has attracted attention due to association with the cryptocurrency industry.

[27] In recent times, Bratsk has attracted attention due to the reported presence of bitcoin operations in the city.

According to Yuri Udodov, head of the Federal Committee on Ecology (FCE) in Irkutsk Oblast, the reservoir has "the highest rate of discharge of metallic mercury into the environment [in] all of Siberia.

Due to a number of factors, both man-made and natural, the quality of the water from Bratsk reservoir ranges from 'clean', down to 'dirty'.