Trends and problems in the development of the Vologda oblast municipal districts

In the post-Soviet period Russia had to establish the institute of local government from scratch, but many of the goals set out by the reforms in the 2000s have not been achieved; and municipalities have not become a truly independent level of power. There are multiple reasons for that; therefore the research into various issues of socio-economic development of municipalities is always relevant. The article, in addition to the analysis of basic trends in the development of the Vologda Oblast municipal districts for the 1991-2012 period (decline in production volumes and investment in most of them, lack of own revenue base of local budgets, etc.), presents the results of the surveys of the heads of municipalities, annually held by ISEDT RAS. The article reveals the main problems of local self-government in the region, in particular, the insufficiency of its own financial and economic base, shortage of qualified personnel, low social activity, low efficiency of interaction with state authorities, as well as the shortage of modern forms and methods of management. The authors propose several directions for solving these problems.