Ținutul Nistru was one of the ten "ținuturi" ("lands") of Romania, founded in 1938 after King Carol II initiated an institutional reform by modifying the 1923 Constitution and the law of territorial administration. It comprised most of Bessarabia (including parts of the Budjak), and its name was derived from the Dniester River. Its capital was the city of Chișinău. "Ținutul Nistru" ceased to exist following the territorial losses of Romania to the Soviet Union in June 1940.