During the meeting with South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on September 6, 2017 at the World Economic Forum, the Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed expanding the Far East hectare land giveaway program. The Russian leader suggested considering the possibility of granting land to individuals who come to the Far East from abroad and also to give bigger lots of land to those who successfully develop the premises already received.

“Regarding the [government’s] real support for the business sector, the Far Eastern hectare program is already demonstrating a positive impact on territorial development. The people that received the land not only began businesses, but also are for the first time in decades founding new settlements in the Far East,” President Putin said, speaking at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on social and economic development of the Far East.

“The government and the regions need to provide these individuals with financial aid to assist in setting up municipal infrastructure. Those who have registered land under their ownership and have worked successfully should have an opportunity to receive bigger land grants. It is imperative to extend this program to our compatriots who come to the Far East from abroad,” the head of state said.

President Putin has urged supervising the implementation of the Far East hectare program. He noted that some people experienced difficulties in receiving the land and complained of “bureaucratic delays.”

Under the Far East hectare program, in many ways comparable to the historic Homestead Act in the United States, individuals are able to receive a free hectare (2.47 acres) of land in the Far East, provided they put it to good use. So far, about 93 thousand applications were filed since the program’s inception in June 2016. Approximately 20 thousand land grants have been made.

The regions with free land include Amur, Chukotka, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Magadan, Primorye, Sakhalin, and Yakutia, as well as the Jewish autonomous region.

Foreign nationals are eligible to use the land, but they would be able to register their property rights only after acquiring Russian citizenship.