In 1812 - after a six-year war - the Treaty of Bucharest saw the Ottoman Empire, then Moldavia's suzerain, cede the eastern half of the country (including the town of Bălţi) to the Russian Empire, under the name of Bessarabia [REF].
By 1894, the city had become a railroad hub connecting with Czernowitz, Hotin, Chişinău, Bender, Akkerman, and Izmail.