Residents of Russia will be able to acquire up to hectare of land for free in Russia’s Arctic territories.
Under a new law, whose draft has been drawn up by the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, citizens will be entitled to apply for plots of Arctic land in the Murmansk Region and some counties in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as in the Arkhangelsk Region, the Komi Republic and the Republic of Karelia. Exceptions are the Chukotka Autonomous Area and Arctic municipalities in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Originally, the right will be limited only to residents of the aforementioned Arctic territories, whose population totals some 2.5 mio people. Then other Russian residents will be able to apply for land plots as well.
According to the bill, citizens can hold their hectare for five years; after that, they can acquire full property rights to the land or register a long-term rent. The land plots can be used for building homes or for household farming; using such free plots for tourism purposes is not allowed.
Since 2016, Russia has implemented the Far Eastern Hectare program, which offers free land handouts to Russian citizens in the country’s Far Eastern regions. According to the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosteestr), as of early July 2020, over 70,000 people have already received land plots during this period. The new bill expands the program through including new territories.