Russia Awards First Free Plots Of Land In Far East

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Reddit Telegram

Russia has given away free hectares of land to three families in the country’s Amur region.

In an initiative to develop the country’s remote Far East the Russian government has approved the first applications under the country’s free land scheme.

The region’s Arkharinsky district which borders China was chosen as the pilot area for the scheme where any Russian citizen could apply for a free tract of land.

BYPASS THE CENSORS

You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

RT reports:

JOIN THE FIGHT: BECOME A CITIZEN JOURNALIST TODAY!

“The first three applications were received from residents in the area, which for many years engaged in beekeeping. District authorities have already approved the layout of the land, and property boundaries have been registered,” a spokesperson for the local property authorities told Interfax.

Another two applications are being processed; one of them is a collective application from three families also involved in beekeeping.

The Arkharinsky district is located at the junction of the border with China and with Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region. The district is crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad and the Chita-Khabarovsk federal highway.

The area has 50,000 hectares of agricultural land and 500,000 hectares of forest.

The governor of Yakutia, another region included in the program, announced that in addition to the hectare of land offered by the state, his region will provide another 2.5 hectares to anyone interested. Yakutia is known for its severe climate and the coldest temperatures recorded in the Northern Hemisphere at −71.2 °C (−96.2 °F) in 1926.

In Russia, land claims YOU! New bill to let citizens get 1 hectare of free land in Far East http://t.co/TksS5E55T3 pic.twitter.com/nQY9GGLXEZ

— RT (@RT_com) July 28, 2015

In April, the Russian State Duma adopted a law allowing Russians the right to claim a free hectare (10,000 square meters) of land in the Far East. The areas include Yakutia, Kamchatka, Chukotka, Primorye, Khabarovsk, Amur, Magadan, Sakhalin and the Jewish Autonomous Regions. The land can be used for any lawful purpose and the new owners cannot rent, sell, or give away the land for five years.