Аннотация:This article is devoted to the problems of local self-government in Russia and its relationship with higher authorities. The recent attempt, far from being the first in history, to transform the balance of power at different spatial levels, called municipal reform, is typical of the post-Soviet period. The main stages of the
reform (although it has not yet been completed) and the new types of municipalities, such as urban and municipal okrugs, are considered. Insufficient financial support for local governments resulted in the consolidation of municipal units and in the growth of budgetary centralization, which led to the curtailment of social infrastructures at the grass-roots level. The municipal reform only intensified the natural process of population
decrease in most areas. Regional disparities in the incomes of urban and municipal okrugs, urban and rural municipal settlements are shown, as well as the redistribution of authority and competencies at different levels. The course of the municipal reform in certain old-developed areas of the Center and the Urals is considered
in more detail.