History and prospects of studying municipal administration issues in Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences

In December 2020, Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (VolRC RAS) will celebrate its 30th anniversary. The establishment and development of this scientific institution in the Vologda Oblast coincided with profound socio-economic and political transformations, and it was also coupled with many socio-economic problems that resulted from the liberal concept of the country's transition to the market. From the very beginning, Vologda Research Center focused on solving the most acute problems of the region, one of which was the creation of an institute of local self-government, capable of performing its functions within market economy. In this regard, provision of local self-government authorities with scientifically based recommendations, including scientific and methodological support for their activities to create a municipal administration system, was chosen as the direction of scientific research of the center's employees. The purpose of this article is to prepare an overview of studies on this issue carried out by the staff of VolRC RAS. The process of the formation of the research topic is shown, main scientific results, obtained during its implementation, are presented, and the range of tasks for the following work is considered. The article allows evaluating Vologda scientists' contribution to the municipal science.