The purpose of this article is to try to show the evolution of Kropyvna from the first settlements to the regimental town of one of the Cossack regiments of the Ukrainian Cossack state – Kropyvna Cossack regiment. According to the purpose of the study, the tasks are defined: to analyze the existing historiography, stages and development of the study of this problem; to prove the existence of a settlement in Kropyvna of Kyivan Rus’ times; to trace the economic development of the studied territory; to trace the social and economic features of Kropyvna as one of the regions of Cossack formation.

The article considers new data of archeological explorations and researches concerning the ancient past of modern Kropyvna village of Zolotonosha district of Cherkasy region, which gave the chance to substantiate the existence the ancient Rus’ settlement of the XII century. Old Rus’ ceramic in the lifting material and accidental finds of staurographic artifacts of the 12th century are the basis for the hypothesis regarding the presence of settlements in Kropyvna of the Kyivan Rus’ period. Also, for the first time, the evolution of Kropyvna from the first sieges to the status of a regimental town of the Kropyvna Cossack Regiment was analyzed and its social and economic development during the specified period was shown.

During the scientific development of this topic, specific methods were applied, which include: historical-comparative, periodization method, historical-systemic and historical-typological.

Analysis of the historiography of the problem showed that only some its aspects were partially considered by researchers, but it has not been still studied comprehensively. The socio-economic development of the regimental town of Kropyvna in the XVII–XVIII centuries can be observed on the basis of various sources and documents: it gradually grew and developed economically, and Cossacks were the majority population, it was a good reason for creating a Kropyvna Cossack regiment.

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