Bender

Bender, a strongly fortified town, with a citadel, in the Russian province of Bessarabia, on the right bank of the Dniester, 82 miles NW. of Odessa by rail. Population, 44,684, including many Armenians, Tartars, Moldavians, and Jews. The principal industries are the manufacture of bricks, stoneware, paper, and leather, with agriculture, fishing, and mining. The local trade is important. In 1770 the Russians captured the place, and put the garrison and inhabitants, then amounting to about 30,000, to the sword. It was restored to the Turks in 1774, but was again stormed by the Russians in 1789, 1806, and 1811. Finally, by the peace of Bucharest in 1812, the town, with the whole of Bessarabia, was formally ceded to Russia. Charles XII. of Sweden lived from 1709 till 1712 at Varnitza, near Bender.—Bender Abbas is another name for the town of Gombroon (q.v.).