Social activity in rural localities: opportunities for development

At present one of the important forms of management becomes the establishment of civic society institutions, inclusion of population into the solving of local, regional and federal problems. The formation of rural people’s civic activity is of great importance. In developed countries the state pays a close attention to the development of people’s civic activity, their inclusion into all processes of agricultural production management and improvement. In Russia the development of civic society has begun much later than in European countries. In rural localities it goes especially slowly. In the formation of civic activity in rural Russia there are several peculiarities. First, there is a growing trend of rural population dispersion in the majority of Russia's regions including the Vologda Oblast where this trend is especially pronounced. The number of unpopulated villages increases, population concentration reduces, all this requires efforts to save the frame of rural population settlement. Besides, two more tendencies related to the changing of rural people demographic structure become apparent: population ageing (percent of people older that 60 years increases) and the increasing of gender disparity in population structure. Second, the reducing of demographic field is compounded by a number of sociocultural tendencies. Deterioration of trust exerts a constraining influence on the development of all self-organization forms. Whereas, the low level of rural people participation in social and political life cannot secure the fulfilment of their needs and wishes. Third, regardless of the low public activity rural people are in high demand for participation in socially important activities, this reveals idle potential of rural population and the opportunities for the development of civic activity in the country. For the development of public activity, in rural localities as well, it is important and well-timed to extend opportunities for broadband use, to develop the system of education in the law for population, to inform people about the opportunities of their participation in local problems solving by means of mass media and educational activity, and community outreach to promote civic and social values, to inform people about effective examples of social activity, to create positive images of public men, to develop a stimulation system for best activists, and to provide municipalities with recommendations on the development of a support system for public initiatives.