Grounds for strategic targets of socio-economic development of Russian towns

Currently scientists are mainly involved in the research of various aspects of contemporary urbanization and globalization processes of the world economy with a particular interest to a rapid growth of information technology and the formation of post-industrial society. This fact has reduced the interest of researchers to a number of important aspects of traditional issues. These aspects include the study of small towns and their role in the development of regions and a country as a whole. However, the current situation in most Russian regions requires special attention to the problems and prospects of small towns, the development of which is constrained by a number of factors. In particular, there are many challenges in town development, such as urban, environmental, social, demographic, economic etc., but currently these issues are insufficiently studied and require fundamental research. The assessment of modernization stages of all branches of region activities makes it possible to monitor the problems small towns and district centers face with. A comprehensive assessment of main development trends of such settlements allows to estimate the progress of territorial systems using economic and social indicators, indicators of infrastructure development and economy of knowledge. The basic idea of the study is to identify the peculiarities of small town development in the case study of three subjects of the Russian Federation (Vladimir, Tula regions and Perm Krai), to compare challenges and patterns that affect the increase of the population life standard. The purpose of the research is to define social-economic development trends of towns considering the current prospects and potential for the economic growth in these areas. In the research the regulatory framework for local governance has been characterized, a comparative analysis of small town dynamics in Russia has been made in the case study of Vladimir, Tula regions and Perm Krai. The analysis includes a set of main demographic and socio-economic indicators. The methodology of the study includes a statistical method, method of system analysis, a content analysis of documents and a formal-logical method. The results of the study are to systematize factors to apply tools for socio-economic development of these territories, to identify the state programs aspects that should be improved and to increase the strategic and operational management efficiency of municipalities. The conclusion of the study is the importance to develop the capacity of small towns through the development of industrial and innovation centers considering the specifics of a given region.