Rating of current problems of small towns of the Sverdlovsk region

Currently, attention to the study of small towns is increasing in the scientific community of our country. In publications on small towns, the presence of a list of many current problems can be considered as a typical case, while the rating of these problems is usually not established. The scientific problem is to establish a hierarchy of current problems of small towns, to find their most painful points. The empirical base of the study is formed by statistical data of reports on citizens’ appeals published on the official websites of the administrations of small towns of the Sverdlovsk region. According to the adopted laws, regional and municipal authorities are obliged to analyse citizens’ appeals and send monthly reports to the Presidential Administration. Citizens’ appeals can be assessed as a reliable source of current problems that worry citizens of small towns. The frequency of mentioning problems in reports allowed to establish their rating. To identify the specifics of the problems, a comparison was made of the rating of small towns with the rating of the problems of the largest city in the region, Yekaterinburg, as well as of the large cities of the Ural Federal District. It has been established that the top three problems of small towns include problems of public utilities, housing and public utilities and economic activity. While in the largest and largest and a large city there is a greater bias towards urban development, improvement, and the social sphere. Problems that worry residents of small regional towns can be classified as primary, providing the basis for life. Analysis of the dynamics of changes in problems over six years has shown that the rating of problems is stable, they are mainly exacerbated. Small towns form the basis of the country’s structure, they are important as reference points for the spatial development of the territory. At present, state policy is not focused on the development of small towns, while most of them are in a problematic or depressive state. Knowledge of the rating of current problems is important for assessing the real state of small towns and for finding strategic ways of their functioning and development in the near future.