Sociological interpretation of social modeling of regional inequalities in Russia (theoretical approaches)

The article considers social modeling as a method for studying Russian regions in order to identify inequalities in their socio-economic, socio-political, socio-cultural development processes and the possibilities of their reduction. The post-Soviet transformation has led the country to negative processes. The new period of Russia’s development was marked by many differential processes related not only to the general contradictory aspects of the functioning of the world community, but also to the local overcoming of stagnant phenomena on the path of integration processes in the economic, socio-cultural and communication spheres of the country. The growing disproportions in the socio-economic and socio-cultural development of the regions, in the standard of living and quality of life, the devastation of large areas of the country due to the concentration of fixed capital in several large centers require a comprehensive consideration of the existing problems and contradictions from the standpoint of science. The purpose of the study is to analyze theoretical and methodological approaches to the social modeling of regional inequalities with access to the development of territorial strategies and political and managerial practices, to reduce interregional inequalities in socio-economic and socio-cultural spheres. The article presents some theoretical and methodological approaches of domestic and foreign scientists to the social modeling of regions. The criteria and parameters of regional identity through social modeling are considered. This method is also presented in the study of political and managerial practices at the federal and regional levels. As a direction of social modeling, the article considers the types (models) of local self-government, i.e. the social model in those structures where there is a great potential of the human factor. By virtue of their place in the system of the state structure of Russia, local self-government bodies have their own advantages, which are important to use in the course of reforming the social sphere and applying social modeling.