Analyzing Criteria For Classifying Municipalities As Single-Industry (Single-Industry Cities)[Анализ Критериев Отнесения Муниципальных Образований К Моногородам]

Introduction. During Soviet times, the policy of accelerated industrialization and the productive forces territorial distribution formed a special legacy for the Russian Federation - highly specialized cities throughout the country - single-industry cities. The legal framework lacks the terms «mono-city» and «city-forming organization»; only the criteria for their attribution are defined. The developed toolkit of state support is intended only for the territories that are in the list of 319 mono-cities of the Russian Federation Government, however, the research includes up to 500 mono-settlements. The aim of the article is to analyze the criteria for classifying municipalities as mono-profile in order to identify the main features of a single-industry company and a city-forming enterprise, as well as clarifying the conceptual framework of these categories. Methods: Analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalization, systematization, interpretation, induction. Scientific novelty of the research: The author compiled periodization of using criteria for classifying municipalities as mono-profile, and organizations as city-forming. Signs of company cities, city-forming organizations, population of a mono-city were identified. The author’s definition of such terms as «city-forming industry cluster» and «single-industry municipality (single-industry city)» is proposed. Results: The shortcomings of the existing criteria for classifying municipalities as mono-specialized are identified. A special category of single-industry cities (18 %) has been identified, those having a cityforming industry cluster. Conclusions: Due to the existing quantitative criteria, some territories do not fall into the list of single-industry cities, while having all the signs, therefore, cannot use the tools of state support for single-industry cities. It is necessary to form new classification signs of mono-cities based on the balance of qualitative and quantitative indicators, as well as to identify development trends and form tools for mono-cities with a city-forming industry cluster.