Yelisavetgrad

Kropyvnytskyi Кропивницький
City of regional significance
Inhul River in Kropyvnytskyi
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): Little Paris (used in historical context)
Motto: With peace and goodness
Kropyvnytskyi Show map of Ukraine Kirovohrad Oblast Kropyvnytskyi Show map of Ukraine Location of Kropyvnytskyi
Coordinates: 48°30′0″N 32°16′0″E / 48.50000°N 32.26667°E / 48.50000; 32.26667Coordinates: 48°30′0″N 32°16′0″E / 48.50000°N 32.26667°E / 48.50000; 32.26667
Country Oblast Raion	Ukraine  Kirovohrad Oblast City municipality
Founded	1754
City rights	1765, 1782
Government
• Mayor	Andriy Raykovych
Area
• City of regional significance	103 km2 (40 sq mi)
Elevation	124 m (407 ft)
Population (2013)
• City of regional significance	234,322
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
• Metro	242,919
Postal code	25000-490
Area code(s)	+380 522
Sister cities (Bulgaria)	Dobrich
Website	kr-rada.gov.ua

Kropyvnytskyi (Ukrainian: Кропивницький, Ukrainian pronunciation: [kropeu̯ˈnɪt͡sʲkɪi̯]) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river, and is the administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: 232 052 (2015 est.).

Between 1939 and 2016 it was called Kirovohrád (Ukrainian: Кіровогра́д, [kirowɔˈɦrɑd]; Russian: Кировогра́д, Kirovográd) after the First Secretary of the Leningrad City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Sergei Kirov. Earlier names included Yelisavetgrad and Zinovyevsk.

The city is the birthplace of noted figures such as Grigory Zinoviev, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Arseny Tarkovsky, African Spir and others.

Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. Presenting a letter of grant on January 11, 1752 to Major-General Jovan Horvat, the organizer of Nova Serbia settlements, the Empress Elizabeth of Russia ordered "to found an earthen fortress and name it Fort St. Elizabeth" (see On the Historical Meaning of the Name Elizabeth for Our City) (in Ukrainian). 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.