The transfer of land ownership from the state to private hands as a legal institution underwent a significant transformation in the 18th century: from the distribution of land to landowners as payment for service to the sale of land to private hands as a way to replenish the state treasury. This process took place against the background of the formation of the very right of private ownership of land: the concept of ownership appears, institutions for the protection of ownership and property are distinguished. The paper, based on regulatory acts and an analysis of research literature on the history of the land issue in Russia shows that the growth of the country's territory led to the fact that the "distribution" of land from the state fund continued. The author concludes that there are two opposing trends in the field of land relations: on the one hand, limiting the distribution of land to private hands, on the other hand, strengthening private ownership of land, the transfer of a significant mass of land to private hands "as an exception". The second contradiction was manifested in the fact that at first glance, the authorities strengthened noble land ownership and limited the transfer of land to private hands of other estates and social groups, on the other hand, a tendency to increase cases of transferring land rights to representatives of other estates became obvious. The legal basis for the transfer of land rights was the purchase and sale, the targeted allocation of land for the solution of state economic and political tasks (settlement of new territories, ensuring border security, social obligations to provide for retired employees, etc.). Part of the land was privatized through the initial use of lease relations.