Rural territories of south of Russia: trends, problems and prospects for sustainable development

Creation of conditions for the balanced development ofrural areas, which are a multifunctional element of the country's economic space, is one of the most important strategic goals of state policy. Despite the fact that issues of agro-industrial complex and rural areas support are analyzed at all levels of government, many systemic social and economic problems and imbalances remain, as well as the limiting factors for their sustainable development, even in regions with competitive advantages. The purpose of the study was to analyze current trends, problems and imbalances in the social and economic development of rural areas, as well as to find ways to increase the effectiveness of their state support. The Southern Federal District, which occupies a leading position in the country's food security among macroregions of this type, was chosen as the object of study. Based on the methods of economic, statistical and comparative analysis, abstract and logical thinking, the authors revealed a deepening of destructive innovative, informational and infrastructural differentiation between the subjects of the Southern Federal District and settlements of various types (rural and urban). The analysis of the fifteen-year dynamics of the development of agriculture and a set of social and economic parameters made it possible to establish that economic growth in the agricultural sector is poorlyconverted into the development of rural areas. Particular attention is paid to the emerging trend towards de-urbanization, to maintain which a number of areas for correction of regional policywere suggested. Theyare stimulation of the transition from a single-industry toa diversified model of the rural economy, development of small and medium-sized businesses, realization of a strategy of selectivity and priority in the development of individual territories, subsidy for estimate documentation infrastructure projects, timelydiagnosis and elimination of social and economic imbalances, adjustment of the rules for rural mortgages and support of housing construction in rural areas.