Chișinău  Romanian:, also known as Kishinev  also referred to as Kishineu in Russian-language media in Moldova), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bâc, a tributary of Dniester. 

Founded in 1436 as a monastery village, the city was part of the Principality of Moldavia which, starting with the 16th century became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, but still retaining its autonomy). At the beginning of the 19th century Chișinău was a small town of 7,000 inhabitants.

The origin of the city's name is unclear, but in one version, the name comes from the archaic Romanian word chișla (meaning "spring", "source of water") and nouă ("new"), because it was built around a small spring, at the corner of Pușkin and Albișoara streets