USSR Supreme Soviet, Principles of Land Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics. December 18, 1975
Original Source: Pravda and Izvestiia, 14 December 1975, pp.
The Great October Socialist Revolution destroyed Tsarist Russia’s land system of semi-serfdom, which had doomed the peasantry to poverty and had retarded the development of the country’s production forces. The Oct. 26 (Nov. 8), 1917, Decree on Land of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets abolished private ownership of the land forever; all land was made national property and was turned over to the working people without charge for its use.
State ownership of the land, which arose as the result of nationalization, constitutes the basis of land relations in the USSR Land, which in the conditions of private ownership served as a tool for the exploitation of man by man, is used in the USSR for development of the country’s production forces in the interests of all the people.
State ownership of the land played an immense role in ensuring the victory of socialism in the USSR It created the possibility for the most expedient location of all branches of the national economy and was one of the most important conditions for the transition of land use to socialist forms.
With the creation, during socialist construction, of conditions for mass collectivization of separate, individual farms, the peasantry, under the guidance of the Communist Party and with comprehensive aid and support from the working class, embarked on the path of socialism. As a result of the implementation of Lenin’s cooperative plan and the victory of the collective-farm system, the peasant question found its own genuine solution.
State ownership of the land has promoted the creation of the material and technical base of communism in our country, the gradual transition to communist social relations and the liquidation of the difference between city and countryside.
Land in the USSR-one of the most important resources of Soviet society-is the chief means of production in agriculture and is the spatial basis for the location and development of all branches of the national economy. Scientifically substantiated, rational use of all land, the protection of it and the all-out increase of soil fertility are nationwide tasks.
I. General Provisions
Art. 1. Tasks of Soviet Land Legislation. The tasks of Soviet land legislation are: the regulation of land relations for the purpose of ensuring rational use of the land and creating the conditions for increasing its effectiveness, the protection of the rights of socialist organizations and citizens and the strengthening of legality in the sphere of land relations.
Art. 2. Land Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics. Land relations in the USSR are regulated by these Principles and other acts of USSR land legislation promulgated in connection with them and by the land codes and other acts of land legislation of the Union republics.
Mining, forest and water relations are regulated by special USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 3. State Ownership of Land in the USSR In conformity with the USSR Constitution, land in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is state property, i.e., the property of all the people.
Land in the USSR is the exclusive property of the state and is granted only in usufruct. Open or concealed actions that violate the right of state ownership of the land are forbidden.
Art. 4. The Single State Land Fund. All land in the USSR constitutes a single state land fund, which consists, according to its primary designated purpose, of:
(1) agricultural land granted in usufruct to collective and state farms and other land users for agricultural purposes;
(2) land occupied by populated areas (cities, urban-type settlements and rural communities);
(3) land occupied by industry, transportation, resorts and preserves and other nonagricultural users;
(4) state forest land;
(5) state water-resources land;
(6) state reserve land.
The procedure for assigning land to these categories and transferring land from one category to another is to be determined by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 5. Competence of the USSR in the Sphere of Regulating Land Relations. The following are subject to USSR jurisdiction in the sphere of regulating land relations:
(1) disposal of the single state land fund within the limits necessary to exercise the powers granted to the USSR by the USSR Constitution;
(2) establishment of the basic provisions for land use and land management;
(3) establishment of long-range plans for rational use of the country’s land resources to meet the needs of agricultural production and of other branches of the national economy;
(4) establishment of plans for all-Union land -reclamation measures and other measures for increasing the fertility of the soil, as well as establishment of the basic provisions for protecting the soil from erosion, salinization and other processes that cause the condition of the soil to deteriorate;
(5) establishment of state control over the use of land;
(6) establishment of a single USSR system of state land inventory, state registration of land uses and the procedure for conducting a land cadastre;
(7) establishment of the procedure for compilation of the annual USSR land balance.
Art. 6. Competence of the Union Republics in the Sphere of Regulating Land Relations. Subject to Union-republic jurisdiction in the sphere of regulating land relations are disposal of the single state land fund within the republic and establishment of long-range Plans for its use, establishment of plans for reclaiming land, combating erosion and increasing soil fertility, as well as regulation of land relations on other questions that are not within the competence of the USSR
Art. 7. Land Users. Usufruct of the land in the USSR is granted to:
- collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions;
- industrial, transport and other nonagricultural state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions;
- USSR citizens.
In cases stipulated by USSR legislation, usufruct of the land can also be granted to other organizations and individuals.
Art. 8. Use of the Land Free of Charge Use of the land is granted free of charge to collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions and USSR citizens.
Art. 9. Time Limits on Land Use. Land is granted in permanent or temporary usufruct.
Land use without a time limit set in advance is deemed permanent.
Land occupied by collective farms is assigned to them in unlimited usufruct, i.e., in perpetuity.
Temporary usufruct of land can be for a short term-up to three years-or for a long term-from three to 10 years. In case of production necessity, these terms can be extended for a period not exceeding, respectively, the time limits for short-term or long-term temporary usufruct.
Art. 10. Procedure for Granting the Usufruct of Land. The usufruct of land sections is granted by assignment.
The usufruct of land sections is assigned on the basis of a resolution of a Union-republic or autonomous -republic Council of Ministers or on the basis of a decision by the executive committee of the appropriate Soviet in accordance with procedure to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation. Resolutions or decisions on the granting of land sections are to state the purpose for which these sections are assigned and the basic conditions for use of the land.
A land section already in use is granted to another land user only after expropriation of the given section in accordance with the procedure stipulated by Art. 16 of these Principles.
Land acknowledged, in accordance with established procedure, as suitable for the needs of agriculture must be granted first of all to agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions.
Nonagricultural land, land unsuitable for agriculture or agricultural land of inferior quality is granted for the construction of industrial enterprises, housing facilities, railroads, highways, power transmission lines and trunk pipelines, as well as for other nonagricultural needs. Land sections for the above – mentioned purposes are granted from state forest land primarily from areas not covered by forest or from areas occupied by scrub and growth of very little value. Land sections for construction on areas of mineral deposits are granted upon agreement with agencies for state supervision of mines. Power and communications lines and other utility lines are installed chiefly at the side of highways, existing routes, etc.
It is forbidden to begin using a granted land section before the respective land-management agencies have established (at the locality) the physical boundaries of this section and before a document certifying the right to use the land has been issued.
The right to land use of collective and state farms and other land users is certified by state deeds granting the right to use land. The forms of the deeds are established by the USSR Council of Ministers.
The procedure for legalizing temporary usufruct of land is established by Union-republic legislation.
Article 11. Rights and Obligations of Land Users. Land users have the right and the obligation to use land sections for the purposes for which they were granted to them.
Depending on the purpose of each land section granted in usufruct, land users have the right in accordance with established procedure:
- to erect dwellings and production, cultural -everyday and other structures and installations;
- to sow agricultural crops and to plant forests and fruit, ornamental and other trees and plants;
- to make use of hayfields, pastures and other types of land.
Losses caused land users are subject to compensation.
Violated rights of land users are subject to restoration in accordance with procedure to be stipulated by USSR and Union -republic legislation.
The rights of land users can be restricted by law in the state’s interests and also in the interests of other land users.
Use of land to derive non-labor income is forbidden.
Land users are obligated to make rational use of the land sections granted to them and to refrain from committing actions on their sections that violate the interests of adjacent land users.
Enterprises, organizations and institutions that mine minerals by the open-face or underground method or that conduct geological -prospecting, construction or other operations on agricultural and forest lands granted to them in temporary usufruct are obligated, at their own expense, to put these land sections in a condition suitable for use in agriculture, forestry or fishing, and when the above-mentioned operations are performed on other types of land, in a condition suitable for their use as designated. Land sections are to be put in suitable condition during operations, but when this is impossible, no later than a year after the completion of operations.
Enterprises, organizations and institutions that carry out industrial or other construction, mine mineral deposits by the open -face method or conduct other operations involving break -age of the soil cover are obligated to remove and store the fertile layer of soil so that it may be used to recultivate the land and increase the fertility of unproductive types of land.
Art. 12. Secondary Use of Land. In cases established by law, collective and state farms and other enterprises, organizations and institutions may grant, from the land allotted to them, land plots for use by secondary parties.
The procedure for and conditions of secondary use of the land are determined by Arts. 25, 27, 28, 41, 42 and 43 of these Principles and also by other USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 13. Protection of the Land and Increasing Soil Fertility, Land users are obligated to take effective measures for increasing the fertility of the soil, to implement a complex of organizational-economic, agro-technical, forest-reclamation and hydro-technical measures for averting wind and water erosion of the soil and to prevent salinization, swamp formation, contamination of the land and its overgrowth by weeds, as well as other processes that cause the condition of the soil to deteriorate.
Measures for land reclamation and protection, for cultivation of forest-shelter belts and for combating erosion of the soil, as well as other measures aimed at fundamentally improving the land, are stipulated in the state plans for development of the national economy and are implemented by the relevant ministries, departments and land users.
Agricultural land, especially irrigated or drained land, is subject to special protection. Collective and state farms and other enterprises, organizations and institutions that use agricultural land are obligated to safeguard, restore and increase soil fertility.
Industrial and construction enterprises, organizations and institutions are obligated to prevent contamination of agricultural and other land by production or other wastes, as well as by sewage.
USSR and Union-republic legislation may establish material incentive measures for land users to encourage steps for safeguarding the land, increasing soil fertility and drawing unused land into agricultural use.
Art. 14. Grounds for Terminating the Right of Enterprises, Organizations and Institutions to Use Land. The right of enterprises, organizations and institutions to use the land granted to them is subject to termination in full or in part, respectively, if:
(1) there is no longer a need for the land section or for part of it;
(2) the term for which the land section was granted has expired;
(3) the enterprise, organization or institution has been liquidated;
(4) the need arises to expropriate the land section for other state or public needs;
(5) the land section has not been put to use for two years in succession.
The right to use land can also be terminated if the land section is used for a purpose other than that for which it was granted.
The Union-republic land codes can stipulate other grounds for terminating the right of enterprises, organizations and institutions to use land.
Art. 15. Grounds for Terminating Citizens’ Rights to Use Land. The right of citizens to use the land granted them is subject to termination in full or in part, respectively, if:
(1) use of the land section is refused voluntarily;
(2) the term for which the land section was granted has expired;
(3) all members of the household or of the family have moved to a different permanent place of residence;
(4) labor relations that involve the grant of a land allotment with the job are terminated, if not stipulated otherwise by USSR and Union-republic legislation;
(5) all members of the household or of the family have died;
(6) the need arises to expropriate the land section for state or public needs.
The right to use a land section can be terminated in cases where a citizen commits the actions specified in Art. 50 of these Principles and also if the land section is unused for two years in succession or if it is used for a purpose other than that for which it was granted.
The Union-republic land codes can specify other grounds for terminating the right of citizens to use land.
Art. 16. Procedure for Expropriation of Land for State or Public Needs. A land section or part of it is expropriated for state or public needs on the basis of a resolution of a Union-republic or autonomous -republic Council of Ministers or on the basis of a decision by the executive committee of the appropriate Soviet in accordance with procedure to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Expropriation of land sections being used by collective and state farms and other agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions and land sections of cultural or scientific importance is permitted only in cases of special necessity.
In exceptional cases and only by a resolution of the Union-republic Council of Ministers, irrigated and drained land, arable land and land sections occupied by perennial fruit-bearing trees and plants and by vineyards can be expropriated for nonagricultural needs and land sections occupied by water -protection, protective and other first -category forests can be expropriated to be used for purposes unrelated to forestry.
Enterprises, organizations and institutions interested in expropriating land sections for nonagricultural needs are obligated, before the initiation of design operations, to reach agreement first with the land users and the agencies that exercise state control over land use concerning the location of the facility and the approximate size of the area to be expropriated.
Land sections being used by collective farms can be expropriated only with the consent of the general meetings of the collective farm members or meetings of authorized representatives, and land sections being used by state farms and other state, cooperative or public enterprises, organizations and institutions under all -Union or republic jurisdiction can be expropriated only by agreement with the land users and the respective USSR or Union-republic ministries and departments.
Art. 17. Procedure for Using Land Sections for Prospecting. Enterprises, organizations and institutions that perform geological surveying, exploratory, geodesic or other prospecting operations can conduct these operations on all land, in accordance with procedure to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation, without expropriating the land sections from the land users. The periods for starting and the site of these operations are agreed on with the land users, but if agreement is not reached, they are set by the executive committees of the appropriate district or city Soviets.
Enterprises, organizations and institutions conducting the operations mentioned in the first paragraph of this article are obligated, at their own expense, to put the land sections they occupy in a condition suitable for their designated use. Land sections are put in suitable condition during the operations or, if this is impossible, no later than one month after the operations are completed, excluding the period during which the soil is frozen.
Art. 18. Compensation of Land Users for Losses Caused by Expropriation or Temporary Occupation of Land Sections. Losses caused land users by expropriation of land sections for state or public needs or by temporary occupation of land sections are subject to compensation.
The losses are compensated by the enterprises, organizations and institutions to which the land sections have been assigned and in accordance with regulations to be approved by the USSR Council of Ministers.
Art. 19. Compensation for Agricultural Production Losses Connected With Expropriation of Land for Nonagricultural Needs. Enterprises, organizations and institutions to which land sections occupied by agricultural land are assigned for construction or other nonagricultural needs compensate agricultural production losses connected with expropriation of these sections (in addition to the compensation of land users’ losses under Art. 18 of these Principles).
The amounts of agricultural production losses to be compensated and the procedure for determining these losses, as well as the procedure for using the funds involved, are established by the USSR Council of Ministers.
Art. 20. State Control Over the Use of Land. State control over the use of all land has the task of ensuring that minis -tries, departments and state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions, as well as citizens, observe land legislation, the procedure for using land and correct conduct of the land cadastre and land management so as to utilize land rationally and safeguard it.
State control over the use of all land is exercised by the Soviets and their executive and administrative agencies, as well as by state agencies especially authorized to do this, in accordance with procedure to be established by USSR legislation.
II. Agricultural Land
Art. 21. Agricultural Land. All land granted for the needs of agriculture or designated for such purposes is deemed agricultural land.
Agricultural land is used by socialist agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions in accordance with plans for the development of agriculture so as to meet the national economy’s growing needs for agricultural output.
Reduction of the areas of irrigated and drained land, plow-land, valuable perennial fruit plantings and vineyards, as well as of other highly productive land, including conversion of them into less productive land, is forbidden, except in cases of special necessity to be stipulated by Union-republic legislation-
Art. 22. The Granting of Agricultural Land in Usufruct. Permanent usufruct of agricultural land is granted to:
- collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public agricultural enterprises and organizations -for the conduct of agriculture:
- research, educational and other agricultural institutions -for the conduct of field research and for practical application and dissemination of scientific achievements and advanced experience in agriculture, as well as for production purposes;
- nonagricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions for the conduct of auxiliary farming;
- citizens-for operating a personal farm without the use of hired labor.
Enterprises, organizations and institutions can be granted land sections for collective orchard cultivation and gardening in accordance with procedure and conditions to be established by Union-republic legislation.
In addition to land granted in permanent usufruct, the land users specified in this article can also be granted land in temporary usufruct.
When farms are enlarged or subdivided the boundaries and dimensions of land uses by collective and state farms and other state agricultural enterprises and organizations, as well as by research, training -and- experimental and other agricultural institutions, may be changed on the basis of scientifically substantiated land-management designs approved in accordance with established procedure.
Art. 23. Obligations of Users of Agricultural Land. On the basis of scientific achievements and advanced experience and taking local conditions into account, collective and state farms and other enterprises, organizations and institutions using agricultural land are obligated:
(1) to stipulate in the Plans for organizational -economic structure and in Production -financial plans concrete measures for raising soil fertility and using the land rationally;
(2) to adopt, in conformity with zonal conditions and given farm specializations, the most effective system of farming and an economically advantageous combination of the given farm’s branches; to introduce and master crop rotation; and to draw unused land into agricultural production;
(3) to develop irrigation, drainage and watering of the land, to improve meadows and pasture land, to treat the soil with lime and gypsum;
(4) to take steps against soil erosion, swamp formation and salinization of, the land; to plant forest-shelter belts; to afforest and anchor sands, ravines and steep slopes; and to prevent contamination of the soil;
(5) to clear agricultural land of stones, scrub and undergrowth and to combat weeds and agricultural plant pests and diseases.
Art. 24. Land for Collective Farms’ Communal and Auxiliary Farming Use. Land granted to a collective farm by state deed in permanent usufruct (in perpetuity) consists of land for communal use and auxiliary farmland. Auxiliary farmland is to be physically demarcated from land for communal use.
If there is insufficient auxiliary land to give collective farm households land plots according to the norms specified by the collective farm’s charter, the area of the auxiliary farmland may be increased at the expense of land for communal use by decision of a general meeting of the collective farm members or their authorized representatives; this decision is to be approved by the province (or territory) Soviet executive committee, the autonomous -republic Council of Ministers or, in republics without province division, the Union-republic Council of Ministers.
Land assigned to collective farms is used within the farms on the basis of the collective farm’s charter in conformity With these Principles and also with other USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 25 Right of a Collective Farm Household to an Auxiliary Land Plot, Every collective farm household has the right to an auxiliary land plot granted in accordance with Procedure and within the limits of the norms to be stipulated by the collective farm’s charter.
The right to the auxiliary plot granted is retained by collective farm households in which the sole able-bodied member has been inducted into the USSR Armed Forces for a tour of active duty or occupies an elected post, has enrolled in study or has temporarily transferred to other work with the collective farm’s consent or in accordance with the procedure for organized recruitment, and also when only minors remain in the collective farm household.
The right to use an auxiliary plot is also retained by collective farm households in which all members have become disabled because of old age or invalidism.
In conformity with the collective farm’s charter, the collective farm households are granted pasture for their livestock.
Article 26. Auxiliary Land of State Farms and Other State Agricultural Enterprises, Organizations and Institutions. In conformity with the approved plan for disposition of land within the farm, the auxiliary land to be granted as auxiliary land plots to workers and employees within the norms established by Union -republic legislation is set aside and physically demarcated from the land granted in usufruct to the state farm or other state agricultural enterprise, organization or institution for agricultural needs.
If there is insufficient auxiliary land to provide workers and employees with land plots, the area of this land, on petition of the farm’s officials, can be increased with the permission of the province (or territory) Soviet, the autonomous -republic Council of Ministers or, in republics without province division, the Union-republic Council of Ministers.
Art. 27. Granting of Auxiliary Land Plots to Workers, Employees and Other Citizens Living in the Rural Locality. State farms and other state agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions grant auxiliary land plots or gardens, from land designated for this purpose, to permanent workers and employees of these organizations and also to teachers, physicians and other specialists working and living in the rural locality.
By decision of a general meeting of the collective farm members or their authorized representatives, the collective farm grants auxiliary land plots to teachers, physicians and other specialists working and living in the rural locality.
If unused auxiliary land is available on collective and state farms and other state agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions, personal plots can be granted accordingly to workers, employees, pensioners and invalids living in the rural locality by decision of a general meeting of the collective farm members or their authorized representatives or by the administration of the state farm, enterprise, organization or institution; this decision is to be approved by the district Soviet executive committee.
When the workers and employees mentioned in this article go on pension for old age or invalidism, they retain the auxiliary plots previously granted to them in their former dimensions, as do the families of workers and employees inducted into the USSR Armed Forces for a tour of active duty or enrolled in study -for the entire period spent in military service or the educational institution.
The categories of citizens listed in this article who own personal livestock are allocated land sections for livestock grazing from state reserve land, state forest land and land of cities and urban-type settlements, as well as from nonagricultural land. If there is no such land, sections for livestock grazing can be allocated, in accordance with established procedure, from the land of collective and state farms and other agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions; the livestock owners compensate the land users for the expenses involved in maintaining and improving these sections.
Land sections for haying are granted to the above -mentioned categories of citizens from state reserve land, state forest land, land belonging to the rights -of-way of railroads and highways and other nonagricultural land.
Land plots are granted according to the procedure and within the limits of norms to be established by Union-republic legislation.
Art. 28. Procedure and Conditions Under Which Permanent Land Users Grant Agricultural Land in Temporary Usufruct to Other Land Users. Collective and state farms and other state agricultural enterprises and organizations that temporarily are not using part of the agricultural land assigned to them can turn these lands over in temporary usufruct to collective and state farms and other economic units that need them, by decision of the district Soviet executive committee. An economic unit that has received a section of land for a specified period compensates the land user for investment that the latter has made in the land but on which the latter receives no return by virtue of having granted it in temporary usufruct; such compensation shall be proportionate to the period of time the land is temporarily used.
Part of the land area of one economic unit is transferred to another economic unit in permanent usufruct according to the procedure stipulated in Art. 10 of these Principles.
Art. 29. Use of the Land by One-Family Peasant Farms. One-family peasant farms, which exist in some areas, use the sections of fields and auxiliary land granted to them for agriculture in accordance with procedure and with the limits of norms to be established by Union-republic legislation.
III. Land Occupied by Populated Areas (Cities, Urban-Type Settlements and Rural Communities)
Art. 30. Composition of Urban Land. All land within city limits belongs to the city’s land.
This land includes:
(1) the land on which the city is built;
(2) common-use land;
(3) land for agricultural use and other types of land;
(4) land occupied by city forests;
(5) land occupied by rail, water, air and pipeline transport, the mining industry and others.
Art. 31. Procedure for Use of City Land. All land within city limits is under the jurisdiction of the city Soviets.
The procedure for establishing and changing city limits and for establishing and changing the economic disposition of the land in the territory of cities and for granting and expropriating land sections and the conditions for using them are determined by Union-republic legislation; the procedure for using the land as specified in Clauses 3-5 of Art. 30 of these Principles is determined by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 32. Use of Land by Collective and State Farms Within City Limits The communal land of collective farms and the land of state farms and other state agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions, when such lands are located within city limits and are not subject to urban construction or improvement on the basis of the city development plan, are assigned to them in permanent usufruct.
Housing, cultural -everyday and production construction and installations are located on this land by agreement with the city Soviet executive committees.
Art. 33. Transfer of the Usufruct of Land Sections With Transfer of Property Rights to Structures in Cities. When property rights to structures on city land are transferred, the usufruct of the land section or part of it is also transferred in accordance with procedure to be established by Union-republic legislation.
Art. 34. Suburban and Green Zones. The land outside city limits, which serves as a reserve for expansion of the city’s territory and as space for the location and construction of the requisite installations connected with the improvement and normal functioning of the urban economy, as well as the land occupied by forests, forest parkland and other green plantings that Perform Protective and health and hygiene functions and are a place of recreation for the population is set aside as the city’s suburban and green zones respectively.
The procedure for setting aside suburban and green zones and the use of the land in them is established by Union-republic legislation.
Art. 35. The Land of Urban-Type Settlements. The provisions of Arts. 30, 31, 32, 33 and 37 of these Principles apply to the land occupied by communities classified in accordance with Union-republic legislation as belonging to the category of urban-type settlements.
All land within the limits of settlement boundaries is under the jurisdiction of settlement Soviets.
Art. 36. Land of Rural Communities. All land within the limits of the boundaries set for rural communities belongs to the land of these communities. Land of rural communities that are designated as having prospects of further development is demarcated from other land by establishing the boundaries of communities in conformity with the plans for their development. The land of rural communities that are not designated as having prospects of further development is demarcated from other land by way of the intrafarm disposition of the land.
Within the boundaries of rural communities the rural Soviet exercises control over the granting of all land sections and adopts decisions on granting land sections, except from the land of collective and state farms or other agricultural enterprises.
Land sections within the boundaries of the rural community that are assigned to collective and state farms and other agricultural enterprises are used by them for construction of housing, cultural-everyday and production structures and installations, as well as for auxiliary land use in accordance with Arts. 24, 25, 26 and 27 of these Principles and other USSR and Union-republic legislation. Housing, cultural- everyday and production structures and installations are sited on this land by agreement with the rural Soviet executive committees.
The procedure for establishing and changing the boundaries of rural communities, their designation as having prospects for further development and the procedure for using the land occupied by rural communities are determined by Union-republic legislation.
Art. 37. Granting of the Usufruct of Land Sections to Housing -Construction and Dacha -Construction Cooperatives and Also to Citizens for Individual Housing Construction. Land sections are granted to housing -construction and dacha construction cooperatives and also to citizens for individual housing construction from the land of communities, state reserve land and state forest land located outside urban green zones in accordance with procedure and conditions to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
IV. Land of Industry, Transport, Resorts and Preserves and other Non-Agricultural Land
Art. 38. Land of Industry, Transport, Resorts and Preserves and Other Nonagricultural Land. The land occupied by industry, transport, resorts and preserves and other nonagricultural land is land granted in usufruct to enterprises, organizations and institutions for performing the special tasks entrusted to them (industrial production, transportation, the organization of resorts, preserves, etc.).
The size of the land sections to be granted for these purposes is determined in accordance with norms approved according to established procedure or with design and technical documentation; and the sections are assigned with regard for land development priorities.
The procedure for the use of land occupied by industry, transport, resorts and preserves and other nonagricultural land and the establishment of zones with special land use conditions (health protection zone, etc.) are determined by regulations concerning this land to be approved by the USSR Council of Ministers and the Union-republic Councils of Ministers.
Art. 39. Resort Land. Land sections that are of therapeutic importance, have favorable conditions for the organization of health measures and have been granted, in accordance with established procedure, in usufruct to health-resort institutions are categorized as resort land. Resort land is subject to special protection.
In the interests of ensuring the necessary conditions for the population’s treatment and recreation, as well as for the purpose of protecting the natural treatment factors, health protection zones are established at all resorts. Within these zones it is forbidden to grant land sections in usufruct to enterprises, organizations and institutions whose activity is incompatible with protection of the natural therapeutic properties and favorable conditions for the population’s recreation.
Art. 40. Preserve Land. Land sections that have been allocated in accordance with established procedure and within whose boundaries are natural objects of special scientific or cultural value (representative or rare landscapes and groupings of plant and animal life; rare geological formations or rare types of plants and animals, etc.) are deemed preserve land.
Any activity that violates the natural complexes of preserves or threatens the continuation of natural objects of special scientific or cultural value is forbidden both within the preserves and within the boundaries of the protected zones established around the preserves.
Art. 41. Granting of Land by Industrial, Transport and Other Nonagricultural Enterprises, Organizations and Institutions for Agricultural Purposes. Industrial, transport and other nonagricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions, by decisions of district or city Soviet executive committees, grant temporary usufruct of land they are not using to collective and state farms, other enterprises, organizations and institutions and citizens for agricultural purposes under procedure and conditions to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
Art. 42. Land Allotments Connected With Jobs. Land allotments connected with jobs are granted to individual categories of workers in transport, forestry, the lumber industry, communications, water resources, fishing and hunting, as well as in certain other branches of the national economy.
Land allotments connected with jobs are allocated from land in the usufruct of enterprises, organizations and institutions of the respective ministries and departments, and if there is a shortage of such land, from state reserve land and state forest land.
The list of categories of workers that have the right to land allotments connected with jobs, the size of the allotments, the conditions for granting them and the procedure for using them are determined by Union-republic legislation.
V. State Forest Land
Art. 43. State Forest Land. Afforested land, as well as land -that is not afforested but is designated for forestry, is deemed state forest land.
By decisions of district or city Soviet executive committees, state forestry enterprises, organizations and institutions grant, from the state forest land in their usufruct, agricultural land not being used for the needs of forestry and the lumber industry to collective and state farms and other enterprises, organizations and institutions and citizens in temporary usufruct for agricultural purposes, if such usufruct is compatible with the interests of forestry.
The procedure for the use of state forest land is determined by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
VI. State Water-Resources Land
Art. 44. State Water-Resources Land. Land covered by bodies of water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, canals, inland seas, territorial waters, etc.), by glaciers and by hydro-technical and other water-resources installations, and also land set aside as rights-of-way along the shores of bodies of water, as safety zones, etc., are recognized as state water-resources land.
The procedure for use of state water-resources land is determined by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
VII. State Reserve Land
Art. 45. State Reserve Land. All land not granted to land users for permanent or long-term use is state reserve land.
State reserve land is granted in permanent or temporary usufruct to collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions as well as to citizens, in accordance with the procedure stipulated in Art. 10 of these Principles.
VIII. The State Land Cadastre
Art. 46. The State Land Cadastre, Its Contents and Purpose The state land cadastre, containing an aggregate of reliable and essential information on the natural, economic and legal condition of the land, is conducted to ensure rational use of land resources.
The state land cadastre includes data on the registration of land uses, the inventory of the quantity and quality of the land, classification of the soils and economic appraisal of the land.
State land cadastre data serve the purposes of organizing effective use and protection of the land and planning the national economy the location and specialization of agricultural production, land reclamation and chemicalization of agriculture, as well as the implementation of other national-economic measures connected with use of the land.
The land cadastre is conducted at state expense according to a uniform system throughout the USSR The procedure for conducting the state land cadastre, the forms of cadastre documentation and the frequency with which cadastre data are checked and updated are established by the USSR Council of Ministers.
IX. State Land Management
Art. 47. Land Management and Land-Management Actions. Land management includes a system of state measures aimed at implementing decisions of state agencies in the sphere of land use.
The tasks of state land management are to organize the fullest, most rational and effective use of the land, to raise the standards of farming and to safeguard the land.
Land management includes the following land-management actions:
(1) formation of new land uses, as well as regulation of existing land uses to eliminate the fragmentation of land sections and other drawbacks in the disposal of land; clarification and revision of land-use boundaries on the basis of district planning maps;
(2) intrafarm organization of the territory of collective and state farms and other agricultural enterprises, organizations and institutions with introduction of economically substantiated crop rotation and disposition of all other agricultural land (hayfields, Pastures, orchards, etc.), as well as the development of measures for combating soil erosion;
(3) disclosure of new land for agricultural and other national -economic development;
(4) assignment and expropriation of land sections;
(5) establishment and revision of the boundaries of cities, settlements and rural communities;
(6) the conduct of topographical and geodesic, soil, geo-botanical and other investigations and research.
Land management, including planning, prospecting, photographic surveying and inspection, operates at state expense. Land management is carried out by state land-management agencies.
Art. 48. Land-Management Documentation. Land-management plans and the documents granting the right to use land, as stipulated in Art. 10 of these Principles, are drawn up in the process of land management.
Land-management plans are drawn up with the participation of interested land users and after approval are marked off physically (at the locality) with a designation of land-use boundaries by standard boundary markers.
The intrafarm organization of territory, established in accordance with land-management procedure, is binding on collective and state farms and other agricultural enterprises.
X. Settlement of Land Disputes
Art. 49. Procedure for Settling Land Disputes. Land disputes between collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions and citizens are settled by Union-republic or autonomous republic Councils of Ministers or by territory, province, regional, district, city, rural and settlement Soviet executive committees in accordance with procedure to be established by Union-republic legislation.
Disputes involving the collective and state farms and other state, cooperative and public enterprises, organizations and institutions of one Union republic on questions of the use of land located on another Union republic’s territory are heard by a commission to be formed on the parity principle from among representatives of the interested republics. If a commission does not arrive at a concerted decision, the disputes on these questions are subject to review by the USSR Council of Ministers.
Disputes between joint owners of individual structures on the land of cities or urban-type settlements and on land sections assignable by the rural Soviet executive committees in rural communities concerning the Procedure for using a common land section are reviewed by the courts.
Property disputes involving land relations are reviewed in accordance with procedure established by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
XI. Liability for Violation of Land Legislation
Art. 50. Liability for Violation of Land Legislation. Buying and selling, mortgaging, bequeathing, deed of gift, leasing, unauthorized exchanging of land sections and other transactions that in open or concealed form violate the right of state ownership of land are invalid. Individuals who are guilty of committing the above-mentioned transactions as well as of: unauthorized occupation of land sections; wasteful use of land and use of it for the purpose of deriving income not earned by labor; spoilage of agricultural and other land or contamination of it with production or other wastes and sewage; failure to carry out obligatory measures for improving the land and protecting the soil against wind and water erosion and other processes that cause the condition of the soil to deteriorate;
failure to return temporarily occupied land promptly or failure to fulfill obligations for putting it in condition suitable for its designated use;
- destruction of land-use boundary markers,
bear criminal or administrative liability in accordance with procedure to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation.
USSR and Union-republic legislation can also establish liability for other types of violations of land legislation.
Land sections occupied without authorization are returned to their proper quarter without compensation for expenses incurred during illegal use.
In cases to be established by USSR and Union-republic legislation, incorrectly used land sections can be expropriated from land users that permit systematic violation of regulations for the use of land.
Enterprises, organizations, institutions and citizens are obligated to compensate the damage they cause as a result of violating land legislation.
Source: Current Digest of the Soviet Press. Vol. XXI, No. 1 (1977), 14-20.