Аннотация:The rural crisis that began in the last decades of the Soviet state has deepened in recent years as the measures taken by the Russian authorities don't have the desired effect. Rural territories keep losing the economically active population despite the intensifying urban migration to the countryside. The gradual ‘optimization’ of the rural social infrastructure, significant differences in the urban and rural living conditions, and shortage of jobs in rural areas determine the desire of many villagers to move to the city, while the lack of real powers, funding, and mechanisms for participation in solving local problems with self-government leads to social atomization and apathy. Certainly, an increase in social and human capital can stop the stagnation of rural areas, if there are mechanisms for social mobilization of rural population through which local rural communities can initiate projects, raise funding, and influence territorial planning and improvement in their settlements. Unfortunately, this is a not a common practice in Russia, and in the first part of the article the author explains the reasons for this situation. In the second part of the article, based on his field research and analytical work, the author describes a non-typical case (village Novoalekseevka) from the non-typical Russian region (Crimea) to prove the very possibility of rural self-organization and explain factors of its efficiency.
