The Second National Forum of Rural Communities took place in the Republic of Mordovia from June 9-11, 2011. The forum involves heads of rural communities, deputies from local representative bodies, heads of municipal districts with a predominantly rural population, and representatives of government bodies in constituent entities of the Russian Federation that oversee the development of rural areas. An estimated 500 people took part in the forum.
Of Russia's 24,000 municipalities, more than 19,000 are rural communities, inhabited by about 40 million people (27% of the country's population). Over half of the rural communities have budget revenues (excluding inter-budget transfers from higher budgets) of less than one million roubles a year.
The objectives of the forum were to shape common approaches to infrastructure problems in rural localities, and find ways of addressing these problems more efficiently through local government bodies.
The forum organised thematic panels on the following subjects: development of local government in rural communities, a comprehensive approach to the strategy of agricultural development, promotion of social facilities in the countryside, development of village infrastructure, housing and communal services, and improvement of rural communities. Forum organisers also arranged tours to communities in Mordovia for delegates to learn from their experience in developing these areas.
The First National Forum of Rural Communities took place in January 2010 in Orel. The initiative came from the National Council of Local Government, and the decision was approved at an extended presidium meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Local Government on April 30, 2009. Over 500 people from 70 regions of the Russian Federation attended the first forum. Later, its delegates decided to make the forum an annual event.