Russia To Offer Free Land To Citizens And Foreigners

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Russia to give free land to everybody

Russia has announced plans to offer free land to citizens and foreigners who want to build homes or start business in agriculture or tourism. 

Land in Russia’s far east is up for grabs after a Russian lower house committee approved a bill that offers the free handover of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of land to foreign citizens.

RT.com reports:

However, foreigners will only be allowed to use the land, and the registration of full property rights is only possible after the naturalization of potential owners.

The original bill was drafted by the Russian government in November last year. The explanations attached to the document read that the authorities expect the free land handover to attract more people to the Far East Federal District, to slow or stop the outward migration of locals, and to boost the socio-economic development of the territory.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has also ordered the development of a special web service that will allow Russians to obtain all the necessary papers confirming their property rights remotely and with a minimum of red tape. The plots will be divided from land that’s currently federal and municipal property.

The idea of a ‘Russian Homestead Act’ was first proposed in early 2015 by the presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District, Yury Trutnev, who proposed offering large plots of land for free to anyone who resettled to the Russian Far East to start a farm or other business. The plan also included the handover of one-hectare plots, a ban on selling the land received, and a five-year trial period.

As Trutnev presented his plan to the press, he said President Vladimir Putin had called the initiative correct in principle and noted that similar programs had been successfully implemented historically in Siberia. Putin also urged all the officials responsible for the plan to be precise and cautious when detailing the conditions for land ownership.