Social problems of the rural population of Novosibirsk region and ways of addressing them in the views of local residents

The paper provides a brief overview of contemporary sociological studies on the social and economic development of rural areas. It presents the results of a pilot study investigating living conditions and self-government activities of the Novosibirsk region population. The research reveals the respondents’ opinion on the performance of various organizations in their settlements as well as their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the public utility, transport, and communication. The respondents give a high rating to the performance of educational and sports institutions, cultural and leisure facilities. The rural population is mainly dissatisfied with the poor medical care, the depreciation of utilities, and the lack of employment opportunities. The author concludes that the rural population is convinced that the local authorities will not take effective measures to solve the current problems of rural settlements. It is caused by non-obvious positive dynamics involving promises made by local authorities.