Problems and Mechanisms of Sustainable Development of Rural Areas (at the example of the Republic of Mordovia)

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1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction of the problem The last thirty years on the international agenda there is an acute problem of sustainable development of the world civilization, separate countries and local subsystems, which include rural areas. They take 2/3 of the territory in Russia and are occupied by 26% of the population. With a rich potential (natural, historical, cultural and other), rural areas perform numerous national economic functions, including those which do not have the proper government support (for example, maintenance and improvement of the potential of nature, or social control over the vast sparsely populated areas of the country). However, the critical condition of rural areas is recorded almost on the entire territory of the country; it is reflected in the low living standards of the rural population, the outflow of personnel from agriculture, depopulation of rural settlements. It leads to the lack of domestic production and increased food imports, depopulation of rural areas, which ultimately hinders the achievement of the main objectives of the agrarian policy of the country. 1.2 Importance of the problem On the government level in Russia the following documents are dedicated to the solution of the problems of sustainable development of rural areas: the Concept of sustainable development of rural areas of the Russian Federation for the period up to (2010), the Federal Target Program Sustainable development of rural areas 2014-2017 and for the period up to 2020 (2013), Strategy for sustainable development of rural areas of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 (2015). Since 2003 the implementation of the federal target program Social development of rural areas till 2013 has been carried out, which has contributed to house construction and some development of the manufacturing infrastructure, however the necessary level of social comfort of living of the rural population has not been achieved and the negative processes continue. This shows that the measures applied by the government do not fully consider the diversity and complexity of the conditions and processes of development of rural areas, individual events are scattered, not systemized, and don't have stimulating character for self-development of rural communities. The theory of the development of rural areas is at the stage of its formation, since scientific studies are actively conducted for only last five years, and until recently, the predominant focus was on the development of agriculture and the social and labor relationship in the industry. There are practically no scientific studies on the rural settlements as the most important spatial ecological social economic formations, representing them as a system consisting of the population--the keeper of the unique traditions and culture, environment, economy, ecology and social sphere. In addition, Russian practice needs methodological support of management for sustainable rural development due to imperfections of the applied tools. The study represented in the article is dedicated to this. 1.3 Background/Review of literature Studies of sustainable development of rural areas are carried out in the framework of sustainable social and economic development in balance with the environment, proposed by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development and stated in the report Our common future (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 2008). The approaches developed by the international community on agricultural policy and sustainable development of rural areas have a great importance. Thus, a systematic approach by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) provides a combination of different directions and mechanisms of action to stimulate the overall economic and social development, the growth of the rural economy, development of market relations and institutional environment of the market, the rational use of natural resources and environmental protection. …