Rural development problems and new approaches to their solution in Russia

Russia faces a number of challenges to socio-economic development, the most dangerous of which is the depopulation of rural areas. Traditionally, policymakers have viewed rural development as a secondary goal to agricultural production, especially in the light of policies to increase agricultural exports. All this does not contribute to their development. The authors discuss the main challenges to rural development and describe how the recently adopted state program for integrated rural development, focused on supporting local initiatives, can reverse current trends. Among the most important measures are the development of the Internet and the participation of citizens, businesses, municipalities and their consortia in initiative projects. The effects of COVID-19 will have both positive and negative effects on rural development, but the pandemic has made people more likely to think about moving to the countryside.

New approaches to rural development in Russia

As many other countries, Russia suffers from fast depopulation of rural areas and decline of rural economy. For years, the state policy for mitigate negative consequences of these processes was considering agriculture as the main pillar of rural development and most of governmental finding was oriented to its support. Recently, the new state strategy for rural development was formulated, and in 2019 an ambitious national program approved. It assumes different options for rural territories to develop economy and achieve welfare, depending on natural and human resources availability, remoteness and other features. The paper presents a review of the current state of rural areas of the Russian Federation. It focuses on the main issues the countryside faces at the national level and also reveals regional differences in rural development. The study is based mainly on the author's analysis of national statistical data sources, including the Russian Agricultural census of 2016, and the results of conducted survey. Possible effects of the measures of the new state policy of rural development such as encouraging community-based initiatives and promotion of housing construction through preferential rural mortgage loans programs are analysed. Finally, the authors provide a brief description of impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural development in Russia and attempt to forecast its further implications.