Dnipropetrovs'k
Dnipropetrovs'k is a city in east central Ukraine, capital of Dnipropetrovs'ka Oblast and
a chief industrial city of Ukraine, it is located in a region rich in minerals, and, as a rail and water transport
hub, it has access to iron ore from Kryvyy Rih, coal from the Donets Basin, and manganese from Nikopol'. Manufactures
include steel, fabricated metal, construction materials, chemicals, railroad equipment, and agricultural and mining
machinery. A state university, research institutes, and art and historical museums are here.
Founded in 1787 by the Russian statesman Grigory A. Potemkin, the city originally was named
Ekaterinoslav in honor of Catherine the Great. The present name, also spelled Dnepropetrovsk, was adopted in 1926.
The completion in 1932 of a major hydroelectric facility on the Dnieper River nearby hastened the pace of the city's
industrial growth, which had begun in the 1880s with the coming of the railroad. During World War II, Dnipropetrovs'k
was occupied by the Germans from 1941 to 1943. Population (1990 estimate) 1,187,000.