Land management effectively regulates land relations and organizes the rational use and protection of land, especially during land reforms. The first state body on land affairs and land management in Russia - the Pomestnaya izba (soon renamed Pomestniy Prikaz) was created in 1556 - 1557. And since then, land management has repeatedly played a prominent role in the development of the state.
Federal Law No. 78-FZ dated June 18, 2001 "On Land Management" was adopted 11 years after the Law "On Land Reform" dated November 23, 1990. During this time, the legal regime of land and forms of land management, the structure of land management bodies, the content and tasks of land management have changed. Significant changes in land laws occurred between 2001 and 2018. All this made it necessary to adjust the Federal Law "On Land Management". Therefore, the Government of the Russian Federation by Order No. 2925-r dated December 23, 2017, instructed the Ministry of Economic Development to prepare a new version of the law "On Land Management" by December 2018. The draft was prepared and reviewed by the Ministry of Economic Development on October 26 and November 7. But it drew sharp criticism from experts. We also submitted our comments on the draft law and received a reply, in which the Department of Real Estate of the Ministry of Economic Development said that the comments would be addressed when finalizing the draft. The new version was finalized, reviewed by the Department of Natural Resources, Land Relations, and AgroIndustrial Complex of the Government of Russia, and on December 11, 2020, it was submitted for approval to the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia. In the new draft law, many of the flaws noted have been eliminated. The experience of land management in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden is shown. But the centuries-old experience of land management in Russia has gone unnoticed. Germany's experience in spatial and landscape land use planning, based on the law "On Land Management" dated March 16, 1976, has not attracted attention. At the same time, it is stubbornly recommended to replace the principle of land division by purpose adopted in Russia with agricultural zoning according to the Swedish model. Such a replacement would undoubtedly cause great damage to agricultural land and would require a revision of all land laws.