Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni.
  Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian Hîncești.
 In 1940 the name was changed to Kotovskoe after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there.
 But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești.
 
Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1.523 Jews living there.
In July 1941, an Einsatzgruppen of Romanian gendarmes murdered more than 100 Jews in a mass execution perpetred in a trench outside the town.

From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk.
 Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.
Hîncești was established in 1500 AD as Dobreni.   Within the Russian Empire it was known under the Russified name Gincheshty (Гинчешты), but in Romanian Hîncești.  In 1940 the name was changed to Kotovskoe after Grigore Kotovski, who was born there.  But from 1941 to 1944 it was again known as Hîncești.  
Before WWII, the Jewish community was rather large, in 1930, there were 1.523 Jews living there. In July 1941, an Einsatzgruppen of Romanian gendarmes murdered more than 100 Jews in a mass execution perpetred in a trench outside the town.
From 1945 to 1965 it was called Kotovskoe, which in 1965 was changed to Kotovsk.  Since 1990 it is again called Hîncești.
Hîncești