Locals and migrants to Russia are offered to move to the Far East. It is the region that borders China and is closer to Japan and Korea than to Moscow. In 2016, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed the law granting 1 hectare of land to residents of the Far East free of charge, with the view of developing this remote region.
The first land had already been given since 1 July 2016 to locals, who lived there before. But from February 2017 every Russian citizen will have the right to get 1ha (2.5 acres) land in the Far East for free. This real estate will also be exempt from the land tax for the period of 5 years. The caveat is that the land has to be developed within this time or the property goes back to the state.
What do you think about prospects of getting a free 1 ha of land with your beautiful Russian wife and staring life anew? It may be way simpler than you think.
Why the Far East?
The region of the Far East is the most remote from the central part of Russia with the capital in Moscow. It takes 7 days to get there by train. Now the development of the Far Eastern region was announced to be a national priority.
The Far Eastern district has an area of 6.2 million square kilometers (1,532 million acres)—over 1/3 of Russia’s total area! It’s one of the most remote and sparsely populated regions of the country: Only 6 million people live there. And this number is on decrease.
Moscow is really concerned about this issue considering the fact that the region has vast natural resources: Oil, gas, metals, timber, and plenty of fish. Thus, more and more new projects have been started there to ensure the rise of the Far East.
How to get land for free?
As explained above, in just a couple of weeks every Russian citizen will have an opportunity to apply to get 1 ha of land in Far East and become its owner.
The land will be allocated at the rate of 1 ha per family member. In other words, a family of 4 (mother, father, and 2 kids) can get 4 hectares of real estate. In addition, business partners are allowed to join forces and apply for a larger sized property, RBC reports. Thus, even 1 extended family may score quite a large real estate allotment.
All the documentation can be submitted online.
The allotment can be used for:
- Construction of a home (homes)
- Livestock breeding
- Cultivation of crops
- Business and commercial purposes, including tourism
However, if the land remains uncultivated after the 5-year period, it will be taken back by the government.
Current situation
According to the official site of the program Надальнийвосток.рф (“To the Far East”), 13,969 applications had been received since the launch of the program on 1 July 2016.
- 2,978 pieces of land have been given out with the total area of 2,751 hectares.
- 3,390 applications are at the stage of signing the contract.
The visitors of the website can also have a look at various business plans with details in PDF files—from strawberry cultivation to rabbit farming. The size of investment required to start the business can be as little as USD $2,000.
Here are some of these plans.
Small bakery
- Initial investment volume: 10,206,060 rubles (170,178 US Dollars)
- Payback period: 13 months
Hunting ranch
- Initial investment volume: 15,061,000 rubles ($251,130)
- Payback period: 18 months
Fish farming business
- Initial investment volume: 8.6 million rubles ($143,398)
- Payback period: 5 years and 2 months
Fast food restaurant
- Initial investment volume: 5,531,975 rubles ($92,241)
- Payback period: 2 years and 9 months
Strawberry farm
- Initial investment volume: 900,000 rubles ($15,006)
- Payback period: 12 months
Mushroom farm (shiitake)
- Initial investment volume: from 100 thousand rubles ($1,667)
- Payback period: 20 months
The cheapest choice from those presented on the site is mushroom farming. You will need less than $2,000 investment to start the business.
Skeptics say that the program has many disadvantages and may be bound to fail.The main difficulties include poor infrastructure in the region, bad roads to remote areas, and adverse climate conditions. On the other hand, who doesn’t expect some challenges when starting a project like that! People live and prosper in Alaska and Canada, too. Prospects of the region are undeniable. As they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
One of the most successful projects realized in the Far East is Maikhinskaya Winery. It was founded in 2004 by Sergei Kurechko as a family business. Today Kurechko produces 13 kinds of wine from wild berries and grapes. Last year he made one ton of the product. For tourists, the businessman organizes wine tasting and winery tours.
Maikhinskaya Winery in Primorsky Krai is a nice example of a small business started in the region.
The businessman Sergey Kurechko produces a ton of wine each year.
In late December 2016, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev shared government’s plans for 2017-2018. According to Medvedev, about 165 enterprises are expected to open in the Far East in the nearest future, This means additional 19,000 jobs. Russian government plans to continue attracting investment to the Far Eastern region.
Maybe it’s where your bright and prosperous future lies? Russian president Vladimir Putin is fond of American and European migrants and loves to hand out passports personally. Recent additions to Russian citizens include movie stars like Steven Seagal and Gerard Depardieu.
Screenshots: Надальнийвосток.рф
Read also:
- Top 10 regions for local tourism in Russia
- Cheapest Moscow apartments
- Want to rent in Moscow? Home rentals from $0 are available!
- How Russians become home owners for free
Share this article
That has always been my dream. Owning a plot of land near forests and streams. Building my own house, growing my own food (well, a part of it anyway). Starting a family with a beautiful, intelligent and kind wife, and getting many children. Though it has to be near an international airport (I love traveling), and a fast and stable internet connection is a must (that’s how I make my money). Oh well… 🙂
This is an interesting read. Is there a good chance to make a profitable business there? So 1 hectare is almost 2.5 acres. Would a Russian woman choose that over life in a big city? I own 20 acres in eastern California. That is about 8 hectares. I’m a city person and I don’t have a drop of country blood in my veins. …as discussed on attire blog, I like to wear designer jeans or slack, collar shirts and my Zara jackets. And I like the Russian attire for girls: heels and skirts. …back to land. I’ve lived in the… Read more »
Blake,
It might be a good topic to discuss with Russian women on Elenasmodels 😉
Find out what they think of it.
For example, if the woman has 2 kids, your family can get 4 ha (10 acres) of land in the Far East for free. And if you have an American friend who also does the same, and 2 families apply together, you could get 20 acres and work together. Could be a great business opportunity.
Спасибо Елена 🙂 Я буду
I saw this some time ago, and the biggest problem with the scheme is that the area offered is way too small to actually live on. Unless one is planning to cut down forests that one would not own, one person could easily burn through every twig on the property in a couple of years, leaving no actual resources to work with. I’ve homesteaded on a property that was 8ha, and without having a paying job to provide most of our needs, it would have been entirely untenable. At a bare minimum, one would need twice that, bordered by fresh… Read more »
Saxon, They give away 1ha (2.5 acres) PER PERSON, including minors. So a family of 4 gets 10 acres. 2-3 families or associates are allowed to file a joint application to get a larger allotment. You only need to live there for 5 years, and building just 1 house or planting some crops is considered enough to view the land as “developed”. I think lots of people will get allotments with family members, and sell them cheaply once 5 years passed and they own the land freehold. This is where true entrepreneurs could amass large blocks of real estate, if… Read more »
Just another example of a progressive and forward thinking government. In a few years time there will be enough people over there to get some major developments underway. I’m in Australia and the interior of this country is sparsely populated, the same idea would have benefits for this country but unfortunately the government over here is only interested in money and taxes. What a great country Russia is.
Here in the U S, we had this in the late 19th century with the Homestead Act. After the American Civil War, the railroads opened up transportation, and the wild, wild, west began. Hollywood has made a fortune off of it.
I would love to see Australia.
It’s a really amazing opportunity to whose who want to live on a farm. In any other countries such huge amount of land would cost thousands of euros, but in Russia they are giving this land for free. You can make money during warm months, and relax enjoying beautiful Russian winter after.
I can tell you from reading this, this is NOT for the feign hearted. I live in rural Mississippi, USA and have been in every state west kf the Mississippi River. I can tell you from being in North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington through the winters, this is going to be a very difficult task. The cold dry weather is harsh and I just can’t feature a young lady wanting to be out there. Mysellf, I would go for it, with my training in cold weather survival. I would have to have support of Russian people to help with… Read more »
I’m sure that the Far East offers a lot of natural beauty. The idea of the government to give out one hectare of land is commendable. One hectare makes for a decent building lot, however, I’m sure that it is not nearly large enough to make a living of that piece of land by selling the produce that can be grown. In rural Russia it is common for people to have large gardens, a cow or two, some pigs as well as chicken, geese and ducks. This provides the people with a lot of their daily food. None the less,… Read more »
Horst, it’s 1 ha of land per person that is given for free. A family will get 1 ha for each person, including kids. There are options to use the land of decor growing crops, such as growing flowers in green houses, mushroom or strawberry farms, etc.