Russian Homestead Act

The Russian Homestead Act is a 2016 proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to give 1 hectare, or 2.5 acres of free land in the Russian Far East to Russian citizens and foreign nationals as long as they live there for five years.[1][2][3][4]

The program originally was mostly aimed at Ukrainian Citizens, and came about as a possible method of resettling about 500,000 refugees.[5] According to some observers, more Ukrainians and Belarusians will settle in Siberia than Russians themselves. However, the plan only allows Russian Citizens to own the land. Foreigners can join the program, but cannot own the land until 5 years after they have immigrated to Russia- in order to dissuade drug traffickers from abusing the program. Consolidated groups (of 20 lots minimum) will also be provided with basic infrastructure. [6] Despite restrictions on foreigners owning land, Old Believers from abroad have successfully applied in groups for farming space. As of December 2017, more than 107 thousand people have applied and 40 thousand people have become owners of the land.[7]