Private Plot

a form of individual land use by citizens of the USSR. The Basic Principles of Land Legislation of 1968 (arts. 25–27) authorizes the perpetual and free use of land as a means of secondary income by the families of kolkhoz members and by workers and office employees in rural regions. Individual living quarters and income-producing structures may be erected on the private plot.

At kolkhozes and state agricultural institutions, private plots are assigned at kolkhoz general meetings or by order of the administration of the corresponding state agricultural institution. Individual peasant households may also maintain a private plot (Basic Principles of Land Legislation, art. 29). The Model Kolkhoz Regulations (par. 42) have set the maximum size of a private plot in kolkhozes at 0.5 hectares (ha) or, on irrigated lands, 0.2 ha. Within the limits of the established standards, plot sizes are determined by the regulations of each kolkhoz.

The maximum dimensions of private plots for workers and office employees are defined in the land codes of the various Soviet republics. For example, in the RSFSR, permanent workers at state agricultural institutions are allotted up to 0.3 ha; teachers, physicians, and other specialists up to 0.25 ha; and other workers and employees, pensioners, and invalids up to 0.15 ha. The size of private plots on irrigated lands is reduced by half.

A private plot usually consists of a continuous strip of land. However, in rural areas where buildings are close to one another the plots may be divided into two parts—one near the dwelling (for structures and orchards) and the other outside the village limits (for vegetable gardens). The total area of the two plots may not exceed the maximum area allowed by law.

In the USSR all work on private plots is performed by members of the household, and all products obtained are for the household’s personal use.