FSB gets right to confiscate land from people

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree with amendments to a 2003 decree authorizing Federal Security Service (FSB) to “take decisions within its authority regarding seizure of land and (or) property located there for the needs of the Russian Federation.”

Nothing is said about any possibilities private investors, companies or private persons have regarding appeal rights if their land get confiscated by FSB.

The draft to the decree and attached documents are posted on the Russian Government’s official portal for legal information.

Kola Peninsula

According to Interfax, FSB requested to get the right to confiscate land “in areas with special objects for land use, and in the border areas.” In Russia, border areas are controlled by FSB, a right given to FSB in 2003 when Putin changed the status of the Border Guard Service from a separate agency into a branch of the Federal Security Service.

Russia’s border security zone is a strip of land controlled by FSB running all along the country’s border, including coastal areas in the north. Restricted border zone areas cover, for instance most of the seaside location along the Kola Bay where private companies now are investing billions into infrastructure and real estate.