It was originally named Alexeyevsk (Алексеевск), in honor of the then crown prince Alexey.

They moved into Svobodny in early 1921, but in the summer factional disputes within the Korean Communist Party and the wider Korean nationalist movement broke out into open warfare, the Free City Incident.

The Red Army besieged and then destroyed the town, securing victory for its preferred faction.

The town is located on the right bank of the Zeya River, 167 kilometers (104 mi) north of Blagoveshchensk, the administrative center of the oblast.

The town is the birthplace of the movie director Leonid Gaidai, whose memorial was unveiled in September 2006.