BUJAK BUDZHAK (Rus and Ukr); BUGEAC (Rum); Bucak (Tk).
Region on the Black Sea coast, now in Ukraine, lying between the lowest course of the Danube, including its delta, and the estuary of the Dniester.
It was part of the principality of Moldavia, a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire from 1512. In 1538 the Prince of Moldavia tried to throw off the Ottoman yoke, but failed. In response, the Ottoman government annexed Bujak and so Moldavia no longer fully controlled its Black Sea trade. In 1812 Bujak and the part of Moldavia between the Rivers Prut and Dniester – known together as Bessarabia – became part of Russia.
By the Treaty of Paris, 1856, Russia was obliged to cede Southern Bessarabia (rather larger than Bujak) to Moldavia, but recovered it in 1878. All Bessarabia was added to Romania in 1918. When the Soviet Union regained it in 1940, and again in 1944, the old Bujak region (roughly speaking) was added to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.