On the role of investment in the socio-economic development of territories

The modern stage of Russia's socio-economic development is characterized by the lack of budgetary resources to finance both strategic and current tasks. The situation is exacerbated by the introduction of political and economic sanctions, the significant fluctuations in oil prices and the ruble exchange rate, the growing mistrust on the part of business, followed by the increase in capital outflow. These circumstances predetermine the search for the ways to solve the socio-economic problems. The studies of leading Russian and foreign scientists prove that investment plays a major role in ensuring sustainable economic growth and solving the problems of territorial development. Moreover, the recently increasing impact of large companies on the country's development and the low budget lead to the necessity to attract private investment resources for regional development. In this regard, the authors analyze the investment activity in Russia, present the countries' rankings by the state of investment climate and disclose the successful experience of business' participation in socially significant regional projects. The periodicals and Internet resources comprise an information base of this study. To achieve this goal the authors use system and integrated approaches, general scientific research methods (comparative analysis, generalization and comparison), table and graphical methods of information processing. The results of the research help prove the need to attract private investment in distressed areas and provide the Vologda Oblast authorities with the recommendations that can be applied in other regions. The work describes the promising priority projects of the region. Their implementation will contribute to the restoration of positive investment growth. The authors suggest the directions to amend the federal legislation in order to stimulate investment activity of enterprises and, therefore, enhance the role of business in regional development.