Assessment of the dynamics of the quality of life of the population of the Kulundinsky district of the Altai Territory

Currently, issues related to the quality of life of the population, the real level of social and economic well-being, and the standard of living are becoming especially significant. Socio-economic and political realities worsen the well-being of the population to a certain extent, it is the rural population that is particularly at risk, since in economic terms it turns out to be more vulnerable than the urban population ^[3]. Moreover, in urban conditions, a person, as a rule, can easily find a new place of work if he has to leave his current workplace, which cannot be said about a modern village ^[18]. Consequently, the rural population is more susceptible to the negative impact of socio-economic instability, in this regard, it turns out to be very important to monitor the situation in rural areas regarding the issue of quality of life ^[15]. On the other hand, the relevance of the issue of quality of life in modern rural areas is due to the fact that the sustainable development of the Russian Federation as a whole can be realized through permanent improvement of the situation in modern rural areas, because rural areas are the basis of the agricultural sector of the modern economy ^[17]. If the agricultural sector of the economy develops steadily, then a modern village receives a sufficient amount of funds and investments, which permanently improves the quality of life in the village, thereby preventing the outflow of population from the modern village. It is worth noting that the situation in the villages of the Russian Federation is ambiguous, some villages actually get a "second life", thanks to significant investments by local farmers and the efforts of the district administration, while other villages are gradually disappearing, people migrate to larger settlements due to the lack of work, infrastructure and other parameters.

The issue of quality of life has been studied in sufficient detail within the framework of modern sociological knowledge. The very concept of quality of life was introduced into circulation by the American economist Galbraith J. The methodological foundations of the sociological study of the quality of life were laid by such scientists as Merat K., Jones W. and Cobb D. ^[9]. Subsequently, domestic sociologists such as Bestuzhev-Lada B.V., Babintseva V.V. identified the main theoretical approaches to the study of the quality of life as a social phenomenon ^[11]. The works of the above authors are not exhaustive within the framework of this issue, since insufficient attention has been paid to the subjective component of the quality of life, although it is the study of the subjective component that avoids confusion with the category of standard of living, as well as to sociologize this problem. Malikov N.S. considered the features of the quality of life in various regions of the Russian Federation, developed certain theoretical and practical constructions for a full-fledged study of this issue. Nekhoda E.V. and Pak V.D. paid special attention to the problems of measuring the quality of life, because it is quite difficult to correctly determine subjective indicators of the quality of life with sociological tools ^[10]. Despite the real sociological value of the above works, there is a lack of mathematization of this phenomenon, the definition of a certain formula for the quality of life, which would allow to unify the methodology of the study of this phenomenon as far as possible. In the works of O.D. Rubaeva, the main factors of quality of life are listed, some differences between the study of the quality of life of urban and rural areas are identified ^[13]. The issue of quality of life within the framework of modern sociological knowledge has been considered in sufficient detail, the main methodological and methodological features of the study of this phenomenon have been identified, but there are no comprehensive local studies of the quality of life in specific regions that allow tracking the dynamics of the quality of life of the rural population. This kind of research allows us to study the issues of the quality of life of the population at a deep level, both at the empirical level and at the level of theoretical generalizations, which will be the novelty of this work. As for the subject area of this work, we are talking about the dynamics of the quality of life of the rural population on the example of the Kulundinsky district of the Altai Territory.

The theoretical and methodological basis of this work is represented by structural functionalism and symbolic interactionism. Of course, the phenomenon of quality of life itself has a certain structure, within which functional elements are interconnected, for example, objective and subjective components of quality of life. The combination of stable interactions of people, established social practices allow villagers to assess their quality of life at a subjective level in a certain way, respectively, the authors of the work consider the use of symbolic interactionism to be fully justified.  The totality of the works of domestic and foreign sociologists, economists will represent the theoretical basis of this work, in particular the works of Juror M.Yu., Rubaeva O.D., Shabanov V.L. ^[12,13,16].

It is worth noting that the phenomenon of quality of life itself is quite multifaceted and multidimensional, difficult to study, respectively, it is important to determine the essential part of this phenomenon, which will be interesting from a research point of view. On the one hand, the quality of life can be understood as a set of levels of development of the main systems responsible for the direct life support of the population, in other words, a set of factors that directly affect the life of people ^[5]. On the other hand, we are talking about a set of indicators directly related to the amount of per capita income, the quality of consumption, real opportunities for education, advanced training, consideration of basic socio-economic needs and interests ^[2]. Each of the above approaches has a right to exist, since certain social groups form consumption standards that become basic for the majority of the population ^[6]. Hence, the level of the individual's claims is formed, which directly affects the subjective parameter of the quality of life or the quality of life felt by the individual.

So, the quality of life is a set of both objective and subjective indicators of a socio-economic nature, which are directly related to the level of well-being, health, work, education of an individual, cultural, social, economic and other types of capital, as well as the phenomenon of quality of life includes direct satisfaction with the life of an individual in the broad sense of the word. The key complexity of the study of the quality of life is the need to determine the place of objective and subjective parameters in the interpretation of data obtained empirically ^[7]. Another difficulty is the possibility of studying the subjective parameter of quality of life with sociological tools. The question of the study of certain indicators turns out to be quite controversial. The authors of this work consider it appropriate to form a set of indicators of quality of life based on the works of Juror M.Yu., Rubaeva O.D., Shabanova V.L. In addition to generally accepted indicators of quality of life, such as employment, consumption level, environment, personal safety, health, indicators such as investment attractiveness of the territory, innovation, specialization and concentration were included various kinds of industries, digitalization of life, the level of happiness and others ^[4]. In total, more than 60 indicators were formed that directly reflect the phenomenon of quality of life ^[1].

Kulundinsky district is one of the administrative districts of the Altai Territory.  From a research point of view, the Kulundinsky district is interesting for a number of reasons, firstly, the presence of a large junction railway station, which affects both the average salary in the district and the phenomenon of employment in the district. That is, for rural areas, this area has atypical forms of employment, a railway, industrial enterprises (a dairy and canning plant, a bread factory). Secondly, despite the difficult socio-economic and political realities, the district is gradually reviving the once lost production capacities, which positively affects both the migration picture and the subjective indicator of the quality of life ^[8].

The methodology of the sociological research consisted of several stages. First of all, the documents representing the annual reports of the Kulunda district were analyzed, directly related to the economic condition of the district, infrastructure, communications, employment, unemployment, wages by industry, environmental parameters, climatic features from 2012 to the first quarter of 2023. A questionnaire survey was conducted aimed at identifying subjective assessments of the quality of life of the population related to the economic condition of the Kulundinsky district, its infrastructure, as well as factors such as work and leisure hours, wages, availability of places for recreation, accessibility and quality of medical, social, educational and other types of services, the work of housing and communal services, the district administration, the village council and other important organizations that directly affect the vital activity of the district. The survey was implemented on the principle of quota sampling. The quotas were such categories as the gender of the respondent, the age of the respondent, the place of residence of the respondent (the district center itself or 9 village councils located in the district). The sample consisted of 279 people, of which: 45% men and 55% women.

A qualitative methodology of sociological research was also used, which included a focus group, as well as an expert survey in the form of an in-depth interview. As for the focus groups, ten of them were held: one in each village council and in the district center itself. 6 people took part in each focus group. The participants of the focus group were asked 11 questions aimed at identifying the subjective component of the quality of life, territorial features and essential problems that are characteristic of each village council in particular. The questions were also asked that revealed the phenomenological features of the life of the population living in this territory, including social relationships, leisure parameter, comfort of living, desire to move or lack thereof, etc. For each of the above parameters, the emphasis was also placed on the retrospective of events, so that it was possible to track the dynamics of some components at a qualitative level.

The expert survey involved 16 experts who either currently hold key positions in the district, or have held such positions in retrospect. The authors of the work believe that employment in key positions of district management, the management of major enterprises, educational institutions, social institutions is a sufficient reason to consider an expert sufficiently competent when it comes to the quality of life in the Kulundinsky district of the Altai Territory.

At the final stage of the sociological research, data obtained by secondary data analysis, document analysis, as well as data obtained as a result of focus groups, questionnaires and expert surveys were compared, after which the dynamics of changes in the quality of life in a particular time period was recorded. Moreover, in this way the real level of the quality of life of the population was determined, moreover, it is worth noting that objective factors for a number of indicators really leave much to be desired, but subjective parameters indicate the presence of a certain level of social optimism, social happiness, based on satisfaction with a number of indicators, as well as one's own position in society. Due to correlation, variance and other types of analysis, those factors and components that have changed significantly have been identified, as well as factors that have changed at the trend level, as well as factors that have not changed. In general, we can say that in 2022 there was rather an adaptive stage of quality of life, when objective indicators are low, and subjective indicators are high, and by mid-2023 we can talk about the so-called realistic stage of quality of life, when objective indicators somehow positively correlate with subjective assessments of the population. Nevertheless, we can state a certain level of social optimism and social happiness, as well as a sufficient level of satisfaction with life in the area as a whole, which allows us to make positive forecasts regarding the demographic situation in the area.

The description of the results of a sociological study should begin with an objective component of the quality of life. First of all, it is worth noting the fact that every year the number of repaired paved roads increases by about 4.7%, and the number of pedestrian zones, gentrified areas for cyclists and pedestrians by 9%. The quality of municipal roads that are not covered with asphalt-concrete pavement is improving, so the administration and the village council of the Kulundinsky district are grading existing dirt roads to maintain them in working condition, if necessary, maintain their condition with a mixture of crushed stone and sand. This fact has a positive effect on the transport accessibility of remote villages and villages of the Kulundinsky district. In the fourth quarter of 2022 and in the first two quarters of 2023, the problem of the availability of municipal transport is gradually being solved, both inside the village of Kulunda and in relation to nearby villages and villages. New buses regularly run along the route inside the district center, which are on the balance of the district administration, private small-capacity buses of the GAZ brand, subsidized from the district budget, run to remote villages and villages. The situation related to intercity transport accessibility has also improved. The number of long-distance trains that pass through Kulunda has increased, which now allows you to get to the regional capital Barnaul every day without any significant difficulties. Moreover, the suburban train "Expanses of Altai" Barnaul–Slavgorod was launched, which is the fastest to date, so you can get from Kulunda to Barnaul in less than 6 hours by rail. For comparison, in 2018, the same distance required 8 hours 12 minutes, in 2020 7 hours 50 minutes, and in 2022 6 hours 50 minutes.

It is also worth noting the increase in the investment attractiveness of the Kulundinsky district during the period under review. So from 2022 to 2023, the number of investments in various sectors of the district's economy increased by 11.7%, which is about 10 million rubles. Thanks to the invested funds, a full–fledged alternative to free medicine appears – private medical offices with relatively affordable prices for the population, remote villages and villages are developing, problems related to the Northern part of the village of Kulunda - Pobeda are being resolved, for example, electricity, water supply and heating are cut off less often in winter. Special attention should be paid to the development of agriculture, so in the village of Smirnenkoe, Kulundinsky district, a playground appeared, street lighting at night, a kindergarten was equipped, and also, thanks to the efforts of local farmers, residential buildings are provided to agricultural workers, which later become the property of hired workers. Similar sites have also appeared in the village of Krotovka and Pobeda – the Northern part of Kulunda.

The current socio-economic state of the district, which largely determines the quality of life, depends directly on the market conditions, which are formed relative to food and non-food products. Based on the analysis of statistical data, as well as the result of an expert survey, we can talk about the satisfactory economic condition of the district, of course, there are significant problems, but existing production facilities, strong farms, as well as developed trade allows us to maintain the condition of the district in normal. Experts also note the insufficiency of the current level of investment in the economy of the district, an increase in investment will allow in the short term to cover all existing needs, as well as direct existing funds to improve the quality of life in the district. Kulundinsky district is among the top three districts in terms of the accrued average monthly salary per employee, again, thanks to the nodal railway station and strong farms, since in other areas of the district's life wages are quite small, but allow the population to buy food and clothing without problems, but the purchase of furniture, household appliances and a car for most residents of the Kulunda district, it is hardly possible without attracting credit funds.

The improvement in the quality of the road surface and pavement led to an increase in the average assessment of the quality of the roadway and pavement by 0.8 points and from 3.1 points in 2022 to 3.9 points in 2023. There is a positive trend in this parameter within the subjective component of the quality of life. Thanks to the joint actions of the Kulunda district Administration, as well as initiative residents, a full–fledged sidewalk was built in the Northern part of Kulunda - Pobeda, pedestrian paths along a number of streets were reconstructed, the most problematic sections of roads inside villages were overhauled. Nevertheless, it is not necessary to talk about the excellent condition of the roadway yet, the relevant authorities do not always have time to put the road surface in order in time, as a result of which the population has quite negative assessments on this parameter.

It is also worth noting the positive dynamics in terms of the development of the personal subsidiary economy of the population of the Kulundinsky district. Over the year, the number of private subsidiary farms has increased by 4%, although the figure is not so impressive, but there is some potential for the revival of rural areas. The presence of a district weekend market allows business owners to sell LPH products without any problems. In this way, not only cattle breeding, pig breeding, but also goose breeding, rabbit breeding and other branches of private farming are developing. This is facilitated by the appearance of small shops that sell meat and dairy products on a regular basis – the appearance of outlets has a positive effect on the dynamics of private households, as a consequence, and on the quality of life of the rural population as a whole.

With medical care in the area, not everything is so clear. Planned medical care to the population is provided to the extent possible by medical institutions objectively enough: 15 FAPs, 3 rural outpatient clinics and the Central district Hospital of the village of Kulunda. At the same time, the shortage of doctors and staff hunger make their own adjustments, so often Kulundin residents cannot even get an appointment with a therapist, since only two therapists work in the district instead of the 14 prescribed therapists. Many narrow-profile specialists are not enough. It is worth noting that the medical issue in the district has been discussed for a long time, from the side of the district administration, the government of the Altai Territory, a number of actions can be observed that are trying to rectify the situation for the better, but it is not necessary to talk about any positive dynamics in this matter yet.

The situation with educational institutions in the district is as follows: there are much more places in kindergartens than there are actually children, as a result of which part of the kindergarten branches is being optimized. Nevertheless, the management of preschool educational institutions is doing everything possible to maintain a sufficient number of full-fledged groups in accordance with the age of children. Regarding the institutions of school education, the situation is stable. There are enough places, the condition of most schools after major repairs is excellent, all conditions have been created for children to receive a full-fledged education in a rural school, including thanks to the "Point of Growth" project.

As for the living conditions of the residents of the Kulundinsky district, they are at a fairly good level. Moreover, from 2022 to 2023, we can talk about real qualitative improvements in the living conditions of the population. This is expressed primarily in the fact that the number of households that have central water supply has increased by 8%, although only cold water supply, since boiler houses do not have enough capacity to meet the need for hot water, but the absolute majority of the population (74%) have a boiler for heating hot water. The absolute majority of private houses are provided with water supply using a constant pressure pump and only 1% of the residents of the district are forced to use a well due to the lack of an opportunity to connect a pump or a central water supply. All apartments that are located in multi-storey buildings are provided with central water supply, but the heating situation has remained stable, also 6% of the apartments are heated by a coal stove, firewood or briquettes.  Prices for coal and firewood remained at the level of 2022, so residents of private houses did not feel the rise in price of housing and communal services, which cannot be said about residents of multi-storey buildings, for many utility bills have become quite high. The study revealed that 77% of respondents consider the condition of their living quarters to be good, compared to 67% in 2022 and 70% at the beginning of 2023. Accordingly, the population is trying to improve the condition of their own living quarters on their own. More and more private houses are provided with the necessary amenities, that is, a bathroom in the house, water heating, furnaces of long-term controlled gorenje. On average, the number of houses that are provided with all amenities increased by 3.7% over the year. Summarizing the above, it should be noted that the absolute majority of residents of the Kulundinsky district, including residents of remote villages and villages, for example, Vozdvizhenka, Ananyevka, Yekaterinovka, are provided with all necessary communal amenities, however, there are a number of problems related to communal amenities that should be solved centrally.

An important component of the quality of life is the time spent on work together with the road, because based on these costs, the budget of free time of a rural resident is formed, who, as a rule, is constantly busy with household chores: gardening, preparatory work for the heating season and a number of other works. The situation regarding the time spent on work and the road to it is stable. The absolute majority of Kulundians spend 8-9 hours working together with the road, which indicates a predominantly 8-hour working day. The study showed that 7% of respondents spend less than 8 hours working with the road at all, for example, employees of preschool educational institutions, a number of agricultural specialties, specialists of secondary education institutions, and 14% of respondents spend more than 12 hours working with the road, provided that their work schedule is shift, for example, 2/2 or 3/1 or a day after three. In general, the population is satisfied with their workplace, moreover, not only in terms of time costs, but also in terms of salaries, bosses, etc. The peculiarities of social relations in rural areas play a role in this, for example, the fact that most residents know each other.

It was noted above that, in general, the problem with municipal transport in the district has been solved. Accordingly, the transport itself began to meet the needs of local residents, moreover, public transport within the village has become quite a popular mode of transport. If in 2022 the population estimated the work and quality of municipal transport by an average of 2.21 points, then in June 2023 the assessment became 4.12 points. Hourly running of a regular bus with a price of 25 rubles turns out to be an excellent help for Kulundin residents, since in this way the problem of transport accessibility of the district center for residents of Pobedy, Oktyabrsky, Krotovka and Myshkino has actually been removed. A minibus runs from remote villages twice a day, which allows residents of rural councils to get to the district center without resorting to expensive taxi services, which grow by an average of 13% annually. The solution of the issue with municipal transport will suspend the process of extinction of remote villages and villages. If in 2022 86% of respondents planned to move from remote villages and villages in the short term, then in June 2023 44% of respondents plan to move from remote villages and villages, which is almost half as much. Moreover, the solution of such a global problem for the entire district significantly increased subjective assessments of the quality of life in rural areas by a number of parameters, the population began to feel needed by local and regional authorities, which they noted in the focus group study.

Education is an important part of the district's infrastructure. It is worth noting that the population of the district appreciates the work of municipal educational institutions, both preschool and school. Thus, 72% of residents of Kulunda district rate the work of kindergartens as excellent, and 66% rate the work of schools as good. As for obtaining higher education or secondary special education, it is not available to all residents of the district to the same extent. As in 2022, the majority of respondents consider secondary special education to be the most affordable for themselves and their children, however, the percentage of those who believe that higher education is definitely available for them and their children has increased (by 7%). This is primarily due to the fact that nearby institutions of higher education have increased the number of jobs, and on the other hand, it is associated with an improvement in the welfare of a part of the population as a whole, so more residents can afford to educate themselves or their children on a commercial basis. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that due to the improvement of the situation with intercity communication in the area, higher education institutions are becoming more accessible from a transport point of view. Travel costs are reduced almost twice, especially affected by the appearance of the rapid suburban train "Steppe Express", plying the route Barnaul – Slavgorod – Barnaul every other day.

The issue of migration of the population from remote villages and villages was touched upon above. It should be noted that in 2022 7% planned to migrate from Kulunda district in the short term, and 18% planned to migrate in the long term, then in 2023 the situation is somewhat different, 84% of respondents do not plan to migrate at all, and only 3% of respondents plan to migrate in the short term. As a rule, those residents whose income is below average are going to migrate. People with average and above-average wealth do not want to migrate, because they have a certain economic capital in the village, including real estate, a car, and often two cars in one family, as well as social capital in the form of a whole list of social connections that help an individual in everyday interactions. The gradual revival of production, a real increase in wages, and the solution of pressing issues of rural residents, which occurs quite quickly, prevents the outflow of the population. It is also worth noting several factors that are significant for people who continue to live in the Kulunda district on a permanent basis. First of all, we are talking about the relative economic and social well-being of the residents of the district, as well as low crime in the district. Secondly, over 90% of the residents of the Kulundinsky district have their own vegetable garden, which allows them to grow a number of vegetable and berry crops, which on average saves 30,000 rubles a year. Thirdly, people who have lived in the Kulunda district for over 10 years have fully adapted to the sharply continental dry climate, the peculiarities of life in the village, which also positively affects the subjective parameter of quality of life, and also creates a sense of stability and confidence in a person.

The ecological state of the environment is an important parameter of the quality of life, especially from the point of view of residents of a particular locality or municipality ^[14]. Currently, we can talk about a good indicator of the environmental component of the quality of life, since urgent problems related to garbage reform, landfill, etc. are gradually being solved. The creation of a hedge around the landfill almost completely allowed to get rid of flying debris towards the settlement, and the change of the organization for garbage removal from the tanks allowed to significantly improve the environmental component in the area. Of course, the garbage problem is not solved everywhere, nevertheless, the population notes a decrease in the number of spontaneous garbage dumps, the cleanliness of settlements, etc. The absence of harmful chemical industries also has a positive effect on the environmental parameter of the quality of life. Of course, emissions from coal-fired boilers complicate the lives of residents of nearby streets to some extent, nevertheless, the management of boiler houses gradually installs particulate filters to reduce emissions of various kinds of waste into the environment.

It should be noted that there is a sufficient level of Internet distribution in the area, the speed of which increases annually. So, in the period from 2022 to 2023, the number of 4G communication towers increased, which makes it possible to make Internet coverage almost throughout the district high-quality and with sufficient bandwidth. Wired Internet is provided even to remote villages and villages, which allows the population to connect a landline phone and Internet in the house, in addition, there are opportunities for wireless connection to the global network. So, three new providers have appeared in the district, which allow the population to connect to a high-bandwidth global network for a small amount of money, almost throughout the entire territory of the district.

It is worth noting the factors that positively affect the assessment of the quality of life in the Kulunda district. First of all, the condition of residential premises, with an annual improvement in the condition of these premises. The owners, firmly entrenched on the Kulunda land, are doing everything possible to make their stay here more comfortable. It is also important to note the fact that in the period from 2022 to 2023, a number of components of the quality of life (roads, sidewalks, recreation areas, park areas, municipal transport) demonstrate positive dynamics, namely, noticeably improve. Moreover, based on the results of the 2022 study, municipal transport was one of the key problems of the district that directly affect the assessment of the quality of life, in 2023 this problem was almost completely solved, which certainly affects the overall assessment of the quality of life. The ecological situation in the Kulundinsky district has also improved – garbage flying from the landfill is held by a hedge, which allows minimizing environmental damage directly to the settlements themselves. Not only the streets of the district are being cleaned of garbage, but also the favorite resting places of Kulundin residents, we are talking about the Lakes "Zhilandy", "Shchekulduk", "Voykovo". The industry of the Kulundinsky district is strengthening, a Dairy and canning plant is operating at almost full capacity today, and a feed mill has also begun its work. The population spends about 9-10 hours working together with the road, which is a good indicator and leaves a certain budget of time for solving a number of household chores and, of course, a full rest. The population, in general, is quite optimistic, since there are real prerequisites for improving the quality of life, based on the growth of objective indicators, it is also impossible to ignore the presence of a certain level of social happiness among the residents of the Kulundinsky district, which allows them to level out some of the difficulties of life in this territory.

One way or another, the population faces a number of difficulties that negatively affect the assessment of the quality of life of residents of the district. The key problem of the district, which reduces the assessment of the quality of life, is medical care. The shortage of personnel, the inability to receive timely high-quality medical care force many elderly people to think about changing their place of residence, closer to the regional capital. The pedestrian accessibility of the Northern part of Kulunda – Pobedy raises questions. The existing railway crossing is sometimes blocked by freight trains, it is very important to solve this problem by building an aboveground pedestrian crossing. Despite the positive dynamics of the quality of the roadway, the population has questions about the condition of roads, including inside the district center itself. In general, 37% of the population are definitely not satisfied with the current level of income to cover all their needs, which also has an extremely negative impact on the assessment of the quality of life of the population in the Kulunda district.

Thus, a sociological study of the dynamics of the quality of life in the Kulunda district in the period from 2022 to 2023 was conducted. We can note a positive trend in objective terms, namely, a number of components have significantly increased in percentage ratio compared to the previous year. As for the subjective component, we are talking about some improvement, since the population feels taken care of by the state as a whole, represented by the district administration and the regional government. If in 2022 it was about assessing the quality of life above average, then in 2023 we can talk about a good quality of life of the population in the district, and within the ten–point system - this is 7.7 points out of 10. The overall assessment of the quality of life based on a number of statistical analyses largely depends on the subjective component of the quality of life, which is especially vividly demonstrated by the example of remote villages and villages. It is worth noting that the continuation of the study of the dynamics of the quality of life of the population in the district will have a certain sociological value, as well as value for the governing bodies of the Kulunda district. In addition, it is necessary to extrapolate the methodology of this study to nearby areas, and if possible, to the entire Altai Territory, so that it is possible to really compare the quality of life in the districts with each other, and the governing bodies have the opportunity to monitor the situation point-by-point, solving problems sequentially in each of the districts.

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