The functions performed by the rural area are diverse and many-sided. A rural settlement can perform several functions at the same time. With the rural settlement functions´ change its status and sometimes the villagers´ welfare also change, so, having understood the processes taking place in the village and leading to the rural settlements´ functions´ transformation we can find an optimal solution for arising problems. In connection with the economy specificity, boundariness of the region, competitiveness of the adjoining state in the agricultural commodities produced the functions of rural settlements of the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR) deserve a special attention. Thus, the study of the rural settlements´ and the whole JAR non-urban area´s functions is a topical problem, which is developed not deep enough yet at the present time.

The purpose of our work is to study the JAR rural settlements´ functions. The object of our research is the rural settlements and the subject - the JAR rural settlements´ functions.

The combination of various activities of the rural population creates various kinds of rural settlements. The presence of one of the following two conditions can be considered a feature of a rural settlement: 1. the prevalence of farming in the population activities; 2. the combination of the people occupied with farming and the workers of enterprises and establishments serving the agricultural sector directly or managing it. With the presence of favourable agro-climatic conditions the settlements with rural functions are found in the area; with the lack of favourable agro-climatic conditions, but with the presence of any natural resource used in the material production, the villages with non-rural functions prevail.

The economic transformations of the last decade have affected the composition and activities of the JAR population, especially rural one. In spite of a great demographic potential the rural settlements increasingly incur the deficit of labour power. The people refuse doing heavy, but low-paid work and in the pursuit of a more highly-paid job move for cities. Without constant maintenance and care the farming lands are quickly overgrown, turn sour and become unsuitable for farming. As a result, the rural settlements change their specialization from the agricultural commodities production to other non-agricultural activities (service, as a rule).

The recovery of agriculture after the crisis of the 90´s and also the entry of the national project on the agricultural development into legal force increased the possibilities of farmers and agricultural enterprises using waste lands for their production. The recultivation of farmlands and state-of-the-art technologies introduction allow improving the labour performance, the rural population living standards and, developing the non-urban area, preserving the rural areas´ potential.

About 80% of the JAR rural settlements have a pronounced mono-specialization; that considerably affects the socioeconomic development of the rural area. Under present-day conditions the rural settlements with mono-economic functions trail the poly-functional ones in viability. The settlements with mono-economic functions do not cope with the changing socioeconomic conditions and are found at the verge of extinction. Some rural settlements involved in one economic activity (agricultural, mining, wood-processing, etc.) turned out to be unable to further functioning due to the change in the environment (exhaustion of mines, fertility depletion, decline in wood reserve, etc.). Many rural settlements supplying railway tracks also suffered, as modernization and electrification of the railway resulted in the change of transportation service, which translated into the small way stations number reduction. The rural settlements performing several functions are in the best position, as they easily accept the changing economic conditions, varying their some or other functions, and, therefore, develop in the changing economic conditions.

Thus, the economic transformations of the last decade affected the composition and activities of the rural population (rural settlements change their specialization from the agricultural commodities production to other non-agricultural activities, as a result of which the number of rural settlements performing non-agricultural functions grows). The poly-functional rural settlements are in the best position, as they easily accept the changing economic conditions, varying their some or other functions, and, therefore, develop in the changing economic conditions more dynamically.

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The work was submitted to to the International Scientific Conference «Basic and applied research, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), February 19 - March 3, 2009, came to the editorial office on 26.12.2008.