Ștefan Vodă is a district (raion) in the south-east of Moldova, with the administrative center at Ștefan Vodă. As of 1 January 2011, its population was 71,900. The district is situated 100 km from Chișinău and 100 km from Odessa, Ukraine.
Localities with the earliest documentary attestation are: Cioburciu, Olănești, Carahasani, first certified locations in 1405-1456. In the 16th-18th centuries, intense agriculture was developed, with important wine-making industries and population growth attested. In 1812, after the Russo-Turkish War (1806-1812), Bessarabia was incorporated into the Russian Empire during this period (1812–1917), and an intense russification of the native population occurred. In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, Bessarabia united with Romania (1918–1940, 1941–1944), and the district was part of the Cetatea Albă County. In 1940, after Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Bessarabia was occupied by the Soviet Union. In 1991 as a result of the proclamation of Independence of Moldova, the district became part and residence of the Tighina County (1991–2003), and in 2003 it became an administrative unit of Moldova.