Kropyvnytskyi

Kropyvnytskyi (Ukrainian: Кропивницький, IPA: [kropɪu̯ˈnɪtsʲkɪj] ^ⓘ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: 219,676 (2022 estimate).

Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was known as Yelysavethrad after Empress Elizabeth of Russia from 1752 to 1924, or simply Elysavet. In 1924, as part of the Soviet Union, it became known as Zinovievsk after the revolutionary Grigory Zinoviev, who was born there. Following the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934, the town was renamed Kirovo.

Concurrently with the formation of Kirovohrad Oblast on 10 January 1939, and to distinguish it from Kirov Oblast in central Russia, Kirovo was renamed Kirovohrad. As part of independent Ukraine, the name of the city was then changed to Kropyvnytskyi in 2016 due to decommunization laws, in honour of Marko Kropyvnytskyi, who was born near the city. However, Kirovohrad Oblast was not renamed because it is mentioned in the Constitution of Ukraine – only a constitutional amendment could change the name of the oblast.

The name "Yelisavetgrad" (usually spelled Elisavetgrad or Elizabethgrad in English language publications) is believed to have evolved as the amalgamation of the fortress name and the common Eastern Slavonic element "-grad" (Old/Church Slavonic "градъ", "a settlement encompassed by a wall"). Its first documented usage dates back to 1764, when Yelisavetgrad Province was organized together with the Yelisavetgrad Lancer Regiment.^{[citation needed]}

Presenting a letter of grant on 11 January 1752, to Major-General Jovan Horvat, the organizer of New Serbia settlements, Empress Elizabeth of Russia ordered "to found an earthen fortress and name it Fort St. Elizabeth". Thus simultaneously the future city was named in honour of its formal founder, the Russian empress, and also in honor of her heavenly patroness, St. Elizabeth.^{[citation needed]}

Following the Russian Revolution and founding of the Soviet Union, in 1924 the city was renamed Zinovievsk, after Grigory Zinoviev, a Soviet statesman and one of the leaders of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). He was born in Yelisavetgrad on 20 September (September 8 O.S.), 1883. At the time he was honored by the name, he was a member of the Politburo and the Chairman of the Comintern's Executive Committee.

On 27 December 1934, after the assassination of Sergei Kirov, Zinovievsk and other Soviet cities was renamed again - this time as Kirovo, and then as Kirovohrad. The latter name appeared simultaneously with the creation of Kirovograd Oblast, on 10 January 1939 and was aimed at differentiating the region from Kirov Oblast in present-day Russia.

After Ukraine regained independence, the name of the city started to be spelled according to Ukrainian pronunciation as Kirovohrad. The previous Russified orthography remains widely used on account of the widespread use of the Russian language in the region.