Russian landowners barred from foreign travel over uncleared hogweed as new nationwide weed rules take effect

In Russia’s Perm region, court bailiffs barred the owners of two plots of land overrun by hogweed, a toxic invasive plant, from leaving the country.

The regional branch of the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) said its bailiffs in the Ocher and Vereshchagino districts imposed the restriction on the two owners of a 1.5-hectare (3.7-acre) plot after they twice ignored orders to clean up their property and remove the Sosnowsky’s hogweed. The ban was lifted once the plot had been cleaned up. The travel ban, the bailiffs said, made it possible to “speed up the pace of the required work.”

The Perm branch said a woman who owns a plot in the Osa district was barred from leaving the country in a second case after she, too, ignored orders to remove the hogweed. Her land has since been put in order and the ban lifted, the bailiffs said. Even so, they will inspect the site once a year for the next five years.

The FSSP office for the Moscow region said in July that it had imposed a similar travel ban over a plot overgrown with hogweed. In that case, the owner was required not only to clear the weeds but also to fix up an abandoned house on the property and haul away the trash. The work was done, the bailiffs said, though it’s unclear whether the travel ban was lifted.

Since the beginning of March 2026, owners and users of land throughout Russia have been required to remove hazardous plants, including Sosnowsky’s hogweed. Violators can be fined and stripped of their land rights. Until then, regions had introduced their own measures against hazardous plants, including hogweed.