The possibility of revealing the potential of land use planning in Russia as a tool for spatial development of the country and regions depends on the decision of legislators

The article discusses the factors that influenced the formation and development of legislation on land management in pre-Soviet, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, reveals the reasons for the shortcomings of the current state of this legislation, compares the provisions of the versions of the new edition of the Land Management Law developed to date. According to the author, one of the options with a number of improvements may be adopted and become the basis for the subsequent development of Russian land management for a long-term perspective.