Putin Signs Key Law Giving Russians Right to Buy Land
Reuters - President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed into law a major land reform bill that gave Russians the right to buy land for the first time, a Kremlin spokeswoman said.
The Land Code, which cleared its last parliamentary hurdle in Russia's upper house on October 10, overturns a ban on land sales left over from the old Soviet economic system.
Proponents of the legislation, including Putin himself, say it will boost economic reforms and attract foreign investment although it applies to only about two per cent of mainly urban land and leaves Russia's vast tracts of farmland untouched.
Putin said earlier this year that the Land Code was needed to put an end to a property black market in which apartments, dachas and land have changed hands in shady transactions involving corrupt local officials.
The legislation, which will also allow foreigners to buy land in Russia, has met with opposition from the Communist Party and its Agrarian allies who say it will lead to Russia being bought up by foreigners and rich Russians.
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26th October 2001, 21:02
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