Key takeaways:

• the reasons for the Russian Government issuing the Decree approving the Regulations on the Submission, Consideration and Approval of Applications for the Expropriation of Land Plots Required for Activities in Connection with Subsoil Use (the “Decree”), which came into effect on April 14, 2013;
• the anticipated scope of the Decree and its limitations in addressing the issues that the majority of subsoil users have to deal with in the course of acquiring rights to land plots required for subsoil use; and
• the procedure for the submission and consideration of applications for the expropriation for state or municipal needs of land plots required for subsoil use, and the subsequent approval thereof as prescribed by the Decree.