Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Small Towns and Rural Areas (Case Study of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia))

This article analyzes the theoretical and methodological approaches to studying entrepreneurship, as well as the place and role of entrepreneurs in the social structure of towns and villages. The theoretical theses are verified through sociological research, particularly expert interviews and surveys. The author conducted 30 expert interviews and surveyed 100 respondents in the city of Aldan and in the villages of Berdigestyah, Magaras, and Dikimdy (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Methods used include identifying the semantic core in the text, calculating expert ratings, determining percentage distributions of respondents' answers, and comparative analysis. The author concludes that small and medium enterprises are developing quite successfully in both small towns and rural areas of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). A significant difference is noted between the opinions of experts and ordinary citizens. Ordinary citizens tend to give inflated assessments of their quality of life in their communities, while their evaluations of business development prospects are more superficial and utilitarian compared to those of the experts.