The foundational idea of the new civilisation is the family homestead, a self-contained plot of land about 3 acres in size. This design of human settlement emerged in Siberia between 1996 and 2000. It was popularised through the Ringing Pines series of books, written by Vladimir Megre and published by the Ringing Cedars Publishing House.
As of 2015, there are ten books in the Ringing Pines series, and another forthcoming. They have been translated into 20 languages, mostly in countries that border Russia. The books have been translated and published thrice in English, but neither version is said to capture the full meaning of the Russian text. There is currently no English publisher. PDF ebooks are available on the authors official website (vmegre.com/en/books/) and old editions are available on Amazon through Ringing Cedars Press.
To date, all English translations erroneously translate the Russian folk term кедр (kedr) as “cedar”, though it actually refers to a species of pine. Until now, the books have been known as the Ringing Cedars series of books.
Due to the series’ popularity in Russia, there are now about 250 settlements of the new civilization. The residents of these settlements are readers of the Ringing Pines and have successfully implemented the idea of rodoviye pomestya They have a social network (anastasia.ru) and a political party (Rodnaya Partiya), which holds an annual conference attended by national and international delegates. A list and distribution map of settlements are available on the Ringing Pines social network (anastasia.ru/static/patrimony_list.php), though it is not always kept up to date.
The movement and the party aspire to cordial and collaborative relations with governments and official institutions. In his New Year’s address, in January 2015, Vladimir Megre said the following:
“I also want to wish a happy new year to the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I want to wish that you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, will grasp the essence of this great idea with your heart and soul. I want you to grasp what it is that a significant portion of Russia’s population is striving for. Just imagine what a marvelous destiny has befallen you! The destiny to encounter and grasp the great dream of many people in Russia, and make it a reality. I wish you success in this matter!
“I’d also like to wish a happy new year to the President of Belarus, Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbaev, and the President of Ukraine, Petr Alekseevich Poroshenko. I want to wish you a happy new year because it’s in your states that readers of the ‘Ringing Cedars of Russia’ books, inspired by the marvelous dream, are coming together in groups and creating family homesteads [rodoviye pomestya]!
“Just imagine, esteemed Presidents – this is where genuine patriotism actually lies. After all, any patriotism should be transformed into some kind of concrete deeds. And what could be more patriotic, than when people take a hectare of land, create a marvelous oasis on it, give birth to children and call it their small motherland? When they even bury their deceased family members on their small motherland? Now that’s what patriotism is. Those people will never betray their Motherland.
“And it’s not important, whether it’s warm in that region or cold, whether it rains, or it doesn’t have very good soil: just like their very own child, this little oasis is what they’re closest to – their closest relation, the one they love most. And so it follows that the whole Motherland, too, the whole country, is what they’re closest to, is their closest relation, the one they love most! I think the time will come when you’ll all get together and decide, together with the people, how best to make this idea a reality.
“And there is no other path! If there were another path, a more effective, more significant one, it would have been voiced. At present, aside from this idea, there is nothing. Many scientists are proving this. Many practically-oriented scientific conferences are taking place in Altay, and in Moscow. At the Lomonosov University, Mikhail Pavlov, a university docent, has written a marvelous paper dedicated to family homesteads.
“At the hundredth anniversary of the Homestead Act, the American President said, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ And he was correct. And this more powerful rising tide will lift all boats in all the countries of the CIS, and, first of all – in our native Russia.”
Scientific studies of rodoviye pomestya are available in Russian on the site of the social network.
At the fourth Ringing Pines conference, in 2014, the Governor of the Belgorod region Evgeny Stepanovich Savchenko discussed a federal policy of allocating lands for rodoviye pomestya:
“It’s important for a law to be adopted on the federal level that will allot a plot of land one hectare in size (or of whatever size one wishes) to all who wish to live on the land, which they will own for lifetime use and can pass down via inheritance, without the right of sale or resale.
“The Belgorod District is the first district in which this law was adopted. In eleven regions of this district, nearly two hundred hectares of land have already been formally set aside for family homesteads. And this is precisely why the city of Belgorod was chosen as the site for the Fourth International ‘Ringing Pines’ Festival."
http://www.vmegre.com/en/news/22331/
At the State Council meeting on family policies, mothers and children, he noted for his colleagues at the Kremlin:
“A very healthy movement, in my opinion, is now growing in Russia in support of these one hectare family homesteads [rodoviye pomestya]. I believe that legislation is necessary to support these people. There are not so many of them, perhaps one, two, maybe three percent, but they are very active. They solve their own problems with their own hands and build these family homesteads. Today, there is a bill in the Duma, being considered by some groups. I would accelerate the adoption of this framework bill, especially since a significant portion of the rural areas in Russia can really only revive with the help of family homesteads”.
http://kremlin.ru/events/state-council/20265/work
Vladimir Putin explains why giving free land to people is good for the Nation, 24 November, 2014.
"When a person lives simpler and closer to the ground, his responsibility for the country is greater. I will say why. He has no other home. He does not sit on a plane, on a train or on a horse, to roll away somewhere and leave.
This person knows that he will live here on this Earth. There are his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He must take care of them. If he does not, no one will.
This is the basis of statehood and patriotism of ordinary Russian people. And of a person of any nationality, who lives here."
Original Russian: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/47054
In January 2015, the Moscow Times reported:
“A program giving every resident of Russia's Far East a free hectare of land could start this year, the minister in charge of the region said Tuesday, following a nod of support from President Vladimir Putin the day before.
“We expect this [program] to start as early as 2015," Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka told news agency TASS, adding that, depending on recipients' proposed development plans, the giveaway “could even be bigger than one hectare."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/moscow-to-give-free-land-to-every-russian-in-far-east/514658.html
In July 2015, Russia Today reported:
“Public debate has begun on a draft bill which would allow any Russian citizen to claim a piece of undeveloped land in Russia’s under-populated, but fertile Far East region. While the idea is popular, critics say it faces multiple practical hurdles.
“Free land is a powerful impetus for realizing the potential of the region, and an instrument to radically increase the population in Russia’s Far East,” said Minister for Development of Russian Far East, Aleksandr Galushka.
According to the draft of the legislation published by the ministry, any Russian would be able to apply for a piece of land measuring 100 by 100 meters located more than 20 kilometers away from the region’s three largest cities, and at least 10 kilometers away from any town with a population of over 50,000. Entire families would be allowed to apply together, with each receiving a hectare.
The application would be submitted online by selecting a patch of land on a map posted on a website. The request would have to be processed within 30 days. The land would initially be leased to the claimant for five years, and be handed over to him permanently, if actively used, after a period of five years.
Foreigners could not apply, and restrictions would be put in place to stop individual landholders from re-selling property to other farmers. If approved by the legislative assemblies, the offer would come into force in July of next year, and run until 2035.
https://www.rt.com/news/310917-far-east-free-land-hectare/
In a speech at the United Nations Nexus conference in July 2015, Vladimir Megre said:
“In 1862 the Homestead Act was adopted in the United States. One and a half million American families gained land. And an amazing thing happened to the United States. Innovations, improvements in health care, scientific research. One thing, you just think, is when 1.5 million people get their roots into that land. It transformed the country into the powerful nation that it is right now. This movement is advancing at a fast pace in Russia right now. And Russia will be a powerful state because of that.”
http://www.vmegre.com/en/news/25594/
At Vedrussiya, we drew a geopolitical map of the future planet earth, indicating the increasing power of family homestead settlements, and the network of support between various continents. Игорь indicated Russia, and said, “центр”, which means “centre”.
In September, 2015, the Moscow Times reported:
Authorities in Russia's Far East are handing out hectares of land free of charge in a bid to attract people to the vast region, which offers its sparse population a wealth of resources and a harsh climate.
The offer is available to all Russian citizens, the only requirement is that people put the land to use.
The land can be used "for any purpose," including farming or building a home, just as long as the land is being used at all, the Far Eastern Development Ministry said on the website it runs for the project, NaDalniyVostok, or "To the Far East."
Those interested in the offer can hold on to their land plots free of rent, tax or any other payments for five years and will then receive ownership titles to the plots, also free of charge, if they can prove the land has been used during that period, the ministry said.
"Unused land plots will be confiscated," it added.
Land allocations can reach up to 1 hectare per person — meaning that a family of five can claim up to 5 hectares, the statement said.
No advance travel to the Far East is required: Interested parties can choose a land plots using an online map.
The project could increase the region's population nearly six-fold — to 36 million people, from the current 6.4 million, according to estimates by Russia's Minister for the Development of the Far East, Alexander Galushka.
"We view this project as a possibility for Russian citizens to achieve self-realization in our Far East, and for attracting people to the region," Galushka said this summer, according to comments posted on his ministry's website.
A survey commissioned by the ministry from the state polling agency VTsIOM indicated that one in five Russians would consider relocating to the Far East and settling there permanently if they receive free land, Galushka said. The number is about 50 percent higher among young Russians, he added.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/529381.html
There are currently three English texts of the Ringing Cedars / Ringing Pines of Russia series of books, by Vladimir Megre.
The first text was translated by John Woodsworth and edited by Leonid Sharashkin, with colourful covers featuring artwork by Aleksandr Razboinikov. They were published by Ringing Cedars Press in the U.S.A. and Australia between 2002 - 2008 (approximate.. to be verified when I get in to better Internet range).
The second text was an altered / amended version of the Woodsworth text by the editors of the Ringing Cedars press. These appeared with black covers featuring natural imagery.
The purpose of this article is to collaboratively learn from mistakes and make the Ringing Cedars / Ringing Pines series available to English-language readers.
Leonid Sharashkin and John Woodsworth no longer have any formal business agreement with the Megre family. The Megre family cancelled their contract after they made changes to the text, the cover, and included a non-official internet address in the black edition.
(Source: Nina Megre, personal correspondance with Wesley Wittkamper at Nexus Conference NYC, July 2015)
In a presentation of the Ringing Cedars Publishing House, in Novosibirsk, Russia (youtu.be/BaeBzBxBhxw?t=2m50s), Polina Megre says:
"Experience has shown that the success and fitting perception of the Ringing Cedars of Russia series of books directly depends on the strict observation of copyright agreements, whose conditions are aimed at preserving the original source of information.
By not purchasing illegal publications, thereby discouraging harmful ideas which distort the author's work and mislead the public, together we can change this situation.
Legal publications, a list of which is steadily growing, are presented on the author's site in the section entitled "Representatives"."
Under the contract, Leonid was allowed to print copies for a year after the cancellation. During that time, the company printed many thousands of the black-covered books, which are now held in a warehouse in the U.S.A. Leonid then got out of the business. It is now run by Bruce Perry and some others through ringingcedars.com, ringingcedars.com.au, and on Amazon.
(Source: Stefan Wolf, Megre representative in China and Taiwan, personal correspondance with me at "фестиваль в стане мастеров" Vedrussiya, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, August 2015)
Meanwhile, the Megre family commissioned a new translation by Marian Schwarz (vol 1-7) and Susan Downing (vol 8-10). These are available as ebooks from anastasia.ru/en/store, and all major online ebook retailers.
Vol. 1 and 2 are available through Amazon as single print runs (print-on-demand), but the text version of this translation is not yet published. All new translations carry the following appeal from Vladimir Megre.
"APPEAL FROM VLADIMIR MEGRE TO HIS READERS
Several Internet websites now share ideas that are very similar to those of the main character, Anastasia, in the “Ringing Cedars of Russia” series.
Many of these websites purport to be official and use the name “Vladimir Megre.” They even answer letters in my name.
In this regard, I feel it is my duty to inform you, dear readers, of my decision to create an official international website, vmegre.com/en.
This will be the only official source for correspondence in all languages from my readers all over the world.
By registering at and subscribing to this website you will be eligible to receive information on the dates and locations of upcoming reader conferences, as well as other information.
Our unified website will keep you, dear readers, informed about the Ringing Cedars of Russia movement throughout the world.
Yours truly,
Vladimir Megre"
The Megre family is actively seeking proposals for publishing the books in the English language, and more information can be found at the website of the Ringing Cedars Publishing House, idzk.ru/en.
As of 2015, there are ten books in the Ringing Pines series, and another forthcoming. They have been translated into 20 languages, mostly in countries that border Russia. The books have been translated and published thrice in English, but neither version is said to capture the full meaning of the Russian text. There is currently no English publisher. PDF ebooks are available on the authors official website (vmegre.com/en/books/) and old editions are available on Amazon through Ringing Cedars Press.
To date, all English translations erroneously translate the Russian folk term кедр (kedr) as “cedar”, though it actually refers to a species of pine. Until now, the books have been known as the Ringing Cedars series of books.
Due to the series’ popularity in Russia, there are now about 250 settlements of the new civilization. The residents of these settlements are readers of the Ringing Pines and have successfully implemented the idea of rodoviye pomestya They have a social network (anastasia.ru) and a political party (Rodnaya Partiya), which holds an annual conference attended by national and international delegates. A list and distribution map of settlements are available on the Ringing Pines social network (anastasia.ru/static/patrimony_list.php), though it is not always kept up to date.
The movement and the party aspire to cordial and collaborative relations with governments and official institutions. In his New Year’s address, in January 2015, Vladimir Megre said the following:
“I also want to wish a happy new year to the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. I want to wish that you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, will grasp the essence of this great idea with your heart and soul. I want you to grasp what it is that a significant portion of Russia’s population is striving for. Just imagine what a marvelous destiny has befallen you! The destiny to encounter and grasp the great dream of many people in Russia, and make it a reality. I wish you success in this matter!
“I’d also like to wish a happy new year to the President of Belarus, Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko, the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbaev, and the President of Ukraine, Petr Alekseevich Poroshenko. I want to wish you a happy new year because it’s in your states that readers of the ‘Ringing Cedars of Russia’ books, inspired by the marvelous dream, are coming together in groups and creating family homesteads [rodoviye pomestya]!
“Just imagine, esteemed Presidents – this is where genuine patriotism actually lies. After all, any patriotism should be transformed into some kind of concrete deeds. And what could be more patriotic, than when people take a hectare of land, create a marvelous oasis on it, give birth to children and call it their small motherland? When they even bury their deceased family members on their small motherland? Now that’s what patriotism is. Those people will never betray their Motherland.
“And it’s not important, whether it’s warm in that region or cold, whether it rains, or it doesn’t have very good soil: just like their very own child, this little oasis is what they’re closest to – their closest relation, the one they love most. And so it follows that the whole Motherland, too, the whole country, is what they’re closest to, is their closest relation, the one they love most! I think the time will come when you’ll all get together and decide, together with the people, how best to make this idea a reality.
“And there is no other path! If there were another path, a more effective, more significant one, it would have been voiced. At present, aside from this idea, there is nothing. Many scientists are proving this. Many practically-oriented scientific conferences are taking place in Altay, and in Moscow. At the Lomonosov University, Mikhail Pavlov, a university docent, has written a marvelous paper dedicated to family homesteads.
“At the hundredth anniversary of the Homestead Act, the American President said, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ And he was correct. And this more powerful rising tide will lift all boats in all the countries of the CIS, and, first of all – in our native Russia.”
Scientific studies of rodoviye pomestya are available in Russian on the site of the social network.
•••
“It’s important for a law to be adopted on the federal level that will allot a plot of land one hectare in size (or of whatever size one wishes) to all who wish to live on the land, which they will own for lifetime use and can pass down via inheritance, without the right of sale or resale.
“The Belgorod District is the first district in which this law was adopted. In eleven regions of this district, nearly two hundred hectares of land have already been formally set aside for family homesteads. And this is precisely why the city of Belgorod was chosen as the site for the Fourth International ‘Ringing Pines’ Festival."
http://www.vmegre.com/en/news/22331/
At the State Council meeting on family policies, mothers and children, he noted for his colleagues at the Kremlin:
“A very healthy movement, in my opinion, is now growing in Russia in support of these one hectare family homesteads [rodoviye pomestya]. I believe that legislation is necessary to support these people. There are not so many of them, perhaps one, two, maybe three percent, but they are very active. They solve their own problems with their own hands and build these family homesteads. Today, there is a bill in the Duma, being considered by some groups. I would accelerate the adoption of this framework bill, especially since a significant portion of the rural areas in Russia can really only revive with the help of family homesteads”.
http://kremlin.ru/events/state-council/20265/work
Vladimir Putin explains why giving free land to people is good for the Nation, 24 November, 2014.
"When a person lives simpler and closer to the ground, his responsibility for the country is greater. I will say why. He has no other home. He does not sit on a plane, on a train or on a horse, to roll away somewhere and leave.
This person knows that he will live here on this Earth. There are his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He must take care of them. If he does not, no one will.
This is the basis of statehood and patriotism of ordinary Russian people. And of a person of any nationality, who lives here."
Original Russian: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/47054
In January 2015, the Moscow Times reported:
“A program giving every resident of Russia's Far East a free hectare of land could start this year, the minister in charge of the region said Tuesday, following a nod of support from President Vladimir Putin the day before.
“We expect this [program] to start as early as 2015," Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka told news agency TASS, adding that, depending on recipients' proposed development plans, the giveaway “could even be bigger than one hectare."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/moscow-to-give-free-land-to-every-russian-in-far-east/514658.html
In July 2015, Russia Today reported:
“Public debate has begun on a draft bill which would allow any Russian citizen to claim a piece of undeveloped land in Russia’s under-populated, but fertile Far East region. While the idea is popular, critics say it faces multiple practical hurdles.
“Free land is a powerful impetus for realizing the potential of the region, and an instrument to radically increase the population in Russia’s Far East,” said Minister for Development of Russian Far East, Aleksandr Galushka.
According to the draft of the legislation published by the ministry, any Russian would be able to apply for a piece of land measuring 100 by 100 meters located more than 20 kilometers away from the region’s three largest cities, and at least 10 kilometers away from any town with a population of over 50,000. Entire families would be allowed to apply together, with each receiving a hectare.
The application would be submitted online by selecting a patch of land on a map posted on a website. The request would have to be processed within 30 days. The land would initially be leased to the claimant for five years, and be handed over to him permanently, if actively used, after a period of five years.
Foreigners could not apply, and restrictions would be put in place to stop individual landholders from re-selling property to other farmers. If approved by the legislative assemblies, the offer would come into force in July of next year, and run until 2035.
https://www.rt.com/news/310917-far-east-free-land-hectare/
In a speech at the United Nations Nexus conference in July 2015, Vladimir Megre said:
“In 1862 the Homestead Act was adopted in the United States. One and a half million American families gained land. And an amazing thing happened to the United States. Innovations, improvements in health care, scientific research. One thing, you just think, is when 1.5 million people get their roots into that land. It transformed the country into the powerful nation that it is right now. This movement is advancing at a fast pace in Russia right now. And Russia will be a powerful state because of that.”
http://www.vmegre.com/en/news/25594/
At Vedrussiya, we drew a geopolitical map of the future planet earth, indicating the increasing power of family homestead settlements, and the network of support between various continents. Игорь indicated Russia, and said, “центр”, which means “centre”.
In September, 2015, the Moscow Times reported:
Authorities in Russia's Far East are handing out hectares of land free of charge in a bid to attract people to the vast region, which offers its sparse population a wealth of resources and a harsh climate.
The offer is available to all Russian citizens, the only requirement is that people put the land to use.
The land can be used "for any purpose," including farming or building a home, just as long as the land is being used at all, the Far Eastern Development Ministry said on the website it runs for the project, NaDalniyVostok, or "To the Far East."
Those interested in the offer can hold on to their land plots free of rent, tax or any other payments for five years and will then receive ownership titles to the plots, also free of charge, if they can prove the land has been used during that period, the ministry said.
"Unused land plots will be confiscated," it added.
Land allocations can reach up to 1 hectare per person — meaning that a family of five can claim up to 5 hectares, the statement said.
No advance travel to the Far East is required: Interested parties can choose a land plots using an online map.
The project could increase the region's population nearly six-fold — to 36 million people, from the current 6.4 million, according to estimates by Russia's Minister for the Development of the Far East, Alexander Galushka.
"We view this project as a possibility for Russian citizens to achieve self-realization in our Far East, and for attracting people to the region," Galushka said this summer, according to comments posted on his ministry's website.
A survey commissioned by the ministry from the state polling agency VTsIOM indicated that one in five Russians would consider relocating to the Far East and settling there permanently if they receive free land, Galushka said. The number is about 50 percent higher among young Russians, he added.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/529381.html
The first text was translated by John Woodsworth and edited by Leonid Sharashkin, with colourful covers featuring artwork by Aleksandr Razboinikov. They were published by Ringing Cedars Press in the U.S.A. and Australia between 2002 - 2008 (approximate.. to be verified when I get in to better Internet range).
The second text was an altered / amended version of the Woodsworth text by the editors of the Ringing Cedars press. These appeared with black covers featuring natural imagery.
The purpose of this article is to collaboratively learn from mistakes and make the Ringing Cedars / Ringing Pines series available to English-language readers.
Leonid Sharashkin and John Woodsworth no longer have any formal business agreement with the Megre family. The Megre family cancelled their contract after they made changes to the text, the cover, and included a non-official internet address in the black edition.
(Source: Nina Megre, personal correspondance with Wesley Wittkamper at Nexus Conference NYC, July 2015)
In a presentation of the Ringing Cedars Publishing House, in Novosibirsk, Russia (youtu.be/BaeBzBxBhxw?t=2m50s), Polina Megre says:
"Experience has shown that the success and fitting perception of the Ringing Cedars of Russia series of books directly depends on the strict observation of copyright agreements, whose conditions are aimed at preserving the original source of information.
By not purchasing illegal publications, thereby discouraging harmful ideas which distort the author's work and mislead the public, together we can change this situation.
Legal publications, a list of which is steadily growing, are presented on the author's site in the section entitled "Representatives"."
Under the contract, Leonid was allowed to print copies for a year after the cancellation. During that time, the company printed many thousands of the black-covered books, which are now held in a warehouse in the U.S.A. Leonid then got out of the business. It is now run by Bruce Perry and some others through ringingcedars.com, ringingcedars.com.au, and on Amazon.
(Source: Stefan Wolf, Megre representative in China and Taiwan, personal correspondance with me at "фестиваль в стане мастеров" Vedrussiya, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, August 2015)
Meanwhile, the Megre family commissioned a new translation by Marian Schwarz (vol 1-7) and Susan Downing (vol 8-10). These are available as ebooks from anastasia.ru/en/store, and all major online ebook retailers.
Vol. 1 and 2 are available through Amazon as single print runs (print-on-demand), but the text version of this translation is not yet published. All new translations carry the following appeal from Vladimir Megre.
"APPEAL FROM VLADIMIR MEGRE TO HIS READERS
Several Internet websites now share ideas that are very similar to those of the main character, Anastasia, in the “Ringing Cedars of Russia” series.
Many of these websites purport to be official and use the name “Vladimir Megre.” They even answer letters in my name.
In this regard, I feel it is my duty to inform you, dear readers, of my decision to create an official international website, vmegre.com/en.
This will be the only official source for correspondence in all languages from my readers all over the world.
By registering at and subscribing to this website you will be eligible to receive information on the dates and locations of upcoming reader conferences, as well as other information.
Our unified website will keep you, dear readers, informed about the Ringing Cedars of Russia movement throughout the world.
Yours truly,
Vladimir Megre"
The Megre family is actively seeking proposals for publishing the books in the English language, and more information can be found at the website of the Ringing Cedars Publishing House, idzk.ru/en.