The river Cogâlnic flows through the city from northwest to southeast, continuing on to the Black Sea.

A Jewish settlement at the site of Basarabeasca was started in 1846; it was originally named Romanovka in honor of the Russian imperial family of the Romanovs.

At the time of the abolition of Jewish land tenure in 1866, 57 families were occupied in farming – 209 men and 183 women.

In order to improve the lot of the colonists, the Zemstvo of Bender instituted market days weekly on Wednesday.

The beginning of the 20th century was a time of rapid development of the village; the construction of the Bessarabka railway station began nearby.

In 1910 some residents gained telephone service - the Merimshi, Okulish, Andelman, Tsuker, and Imasha families.

By 1923 it had become a large village: there were 690 homes, with 1520 men and 1597 women, with a mill, a slaughterhouse, a pharmacy, a primary school, and 15 stores.