Justification of points and scenarios for the development of rural and settlement communities in Ukraine (on the example of Luhansk region)

Purpose. The aim of the article is to determine, using the example of the Luhansk region, modern trends in the life of rural and settlement communities in Ukraine and to substantiate the starting points and scenarios for their socio-economic development. Methodology / approach. The methodology of cognition and presentation of material consists in modern dialectics using a set of specific methods. In particular, the method of systemic-structural analysis is used to reveal the systemic content of the reform of local self-government and determine its role in ensuring sustainable development of Ukraine. The factor analysis method was used to identify the factors of community development. Economic-and-mathematical methods are applied in the systematization of the empirical material collected by the authors of the modern development of communities in Ukraine and the Luhansk region. Results. On the example of the Luhansk region, the content of the determining factors in the development of rural and settlement communities of the country has been identified and disclosed. The priority scientific and practical tasks of identifying points and justifying scenarios for sustainable socio-economic development of rural and settlement communities in Ukraine have been established. Originality / scientific novelty. For the first time, the multidirectional factors of the modern development of rural and settlement communities in Ukraine, in particular the Luhansk region, have been systematized; general trends in the development of the country’s communities have been identified, highlighting both their positive and negative manifestations. Practical value / implications. The practical value lies in the substantiation of the initial applied base for the development of long-term plans for the development of rural and settlement communities. The materials of the article will be used in the context of providing consulting assistance to the heads of local self-government bodies and activists of the united territorial communities of the Luhansk region in order to develop an effective and transparent management system, its orientation towards achieving the goals of sustainable socio-economic development of rural areas.