Ashgabat vs Kropyvnytskyi

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Ashgabat (Turkmen: Aşgabat; Ашгабат, pronounced [ɑʃʁɑˈbɑt], Persian: عشق آباد‎; Russian: Ашхабад), formerly named Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк, IPA: [pəltɐˈratsk]) between 1919 and 1927, is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It is situated between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range in Central Asia. It is also near the Iran-Turkmenistan border. The city was founded in 1881 on the basis of an Ahal Teke tribal village, and made the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924.

Much of the city was destroyed by the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake but has since been extensively rebuilt under the rule of Saparmurat Niyazov’s "White City" urban renewal project, resulting in monumental projects sheathed in costly white marble. The Soviet-era Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west. Since 2019, the city has been recognized as having one of the highest costs of living in the world largely due to Turkmenistan's inflation and import issues.

Source: Wikipedia

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Kropyvnytskyi (Ukrainian: Кропивни́цький, romanized: Kropyvnyc'kyj [kropɪu̯ˈnɪtsʲkɪj] (listen)) a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river, functions as the administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: 225,339 (2020 est.). Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was known as Yelisavetgrad (Ukrainian: Єлисаветгра́д [jɛlʲisavʲɛtɣrad]) after Empress Elizabeth of Russia (r. 1741–1761) from 1752 to 1924 as well as simply Elysavet. In 1924 it became Zinovyevsk (Ukrainian: Зінов'є́вськ, [zʲinɔvɛ́vsʲk]) 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: Кі́рово [kʲírɔvɔ]) 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: Кіровогра́д [kirowoˈɦrɑd]; Russian: Кировогра́д, romanized: Kirovograd), 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.Notable figures born in the city include Grigory Zinoviev, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Arseny Tarkovsky, African Spir, Marko Kropyvnytskyi, and others.

Source: Wikipedia