Kropyvnytskyi (Ukrainian: Кропивницький, romanized: Kropyvnytskyi [kropɪu̯ˈnɪtsʲkɪj] (listen)) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of 222,695 (2021 est.). It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast.
Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was known as Yelysavethrad (Ukrainian: Єлисаветград [jɛlʲɪsɑvʲɛtˈɦrɑd]) after Empress Elizabeth of Russia (r. 1741–1761) from 1752 to 1924 as well as simply Elysavet. In 1924 it became Zinovievsk (Ukrainian: Зінов'євськ, [zʲinɔu̯ˈjɛu̯sʲk]) in honour of the Bolshevik revolutionary and Politburo member Grigory Zinoviev (1883-1936), who was born there. Following the assassination of the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Sergei Kirov (in office 1926–1934), the town was renamed Kirovo (Ukrainian: Кірово [ˈkʲirɔwɔ]) in Kirov's honour on 7 December, 1934—a name-change similar to those of numerous other localities throughout the USSR (including present-day Kirov in Kirov Oblast, Kirovakan, Kirovabad, as well as multiple instances of Kirovsk, Kirovo, Kirovsky and other derivatives).
Concurrently with the formation of the Kirovohrad Oblast on 10 January, 1939, and to distinguish it from the Kirov Oblast in central Russia, Kirovo was renamed Kirovohrad (Ukrainian: Кіровоград [kirɔwɔˈɦrɑd]), a name it maintained until 2016. Due to mandated decommunization the name of the city then changed to Kropyvnytskyi, in honour of the writer, actor and playwright Marko Kropyvnytskyi (1840–1910), who was born near the city. However the 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.During the Ukrainian presidential election of 2004 the city achieved country-wide notoriety due to mass election fraud committed by local authorities and after that became known as District 100 (its community number according to the Central Elections Committee). Notable figures born in the city include Grigory Zinoviev, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Arseny Tarkovsky, Afrikan Spir, Marko Kropyvnytskyi, and others.
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