Ensuring the sustainable development of rural territories has always been, and remains, an urgent task for Russia. Despite the implementation of a complex of federal and regional state programs and projects, a large number of economic, socio-demographic, and infrastructural problems – which have already become chronic – persist in the development of the countryside. This necessitates not merely the design of new measures and instruments or the improvement of existing ones, but a fundamental rethinking of the very model of rural development that has taken shape in the country to date. The aim of this study is to substantiate the conceptual foundations for the development of Russia's rural territories on the basis of the neo-endogenous model, with a view to their subsequent implementation in the practice of state governance. In pursuit of this aim, a mechanism for regulating rural development has been elaborated, one that rests on the principles of neo-endogenous development and envisages the use of both existing and new, promising instruments. The latter include: individual plans/projects for the development of rural territories with a low level of socio-economic development; quality-of-life standards for rural areas; and cooperation development projects along "urban–rural" and "rural–rural" lines in the economic, social, and other spheres of public life. The findings contribute to shaping conceptions of the prospects for the development of the Russian countryside and can be used by researchers conducting studies on related topics, as well as by public authorities in refining strategic planning documents and designing specific rural development projects
Keywords
Rural territories, neo-endogenous development model, mechanism, collaboration, cooperation