MOSCOW Russia's Lower House of Parliament took a major step on Thursday towards allowing the sale of farm land in Russia for the first time since the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917. The state Duma passed on first reading a government bill which was competing with six other drafts ranging from free trade in farm land to severe restrictions. The bill won the backing of 256 deputies in the 450-seat Duma with 143 voting against and one abstention, Reuters reported. To become law, the bill needs three readings in the Duma before approval by the Upper House, the Federation Council, and signature by President Vladimir Putin. Last month Putin said Russia should speed up moves to allow the free sale of land, a subject that has inflamed political passions since Tsarist times, but was cautious about farm land sales to foreigners. The Duma demanded some clauses be amended ahead of the key second reading, the last stage that major revisions are possible, notably setting limits on the size of plot which can belong to one owner and establishing land mortgage procedures. The bill stipulates that farm land must be used exclusively for agricultural purposes, that it belongs only to those able to work on it, and restricts foreign ownership of farm land. The government proposes to ban foreign ownership of land in border regions, near secret facilities and in regions where there is insufficient land for the local population's needs. A separate presidential decree is expected to list such regions. The government says its bill aims to legitimize farm land sales which are already taking place and to make the whole process more transparent. Many Russian regions have local laws governing the trade of farm land, but the absence of federal legislation makes such transactions uncertain and prone to corruption. Land privatization has not yet started in several Russian regions. Since then president Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on land privatization in 1991 around 12 million people have become formal land owners. But many have "virtual" property rights as 93 percent of them only own documents entitling them to part of land previously owned by state or collective farms, rather than concrete land plots. According to government data, only 18 percent of official land owners are involved in farming, while around 70 percent have either leased their plots, or transferred them to agricultural companies.