THE CONCEPT AND THE FORMAL-LEGAL CHARACTERISTICS OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS: THE TERRITORY, THE POPULATION, THE LEGAL REGIME Afanasyev Alexander Alexaderovich, PhD at law. <...> E-mail: afanasiev-3a@yandex.ru Annotation: The article considers the formal-legal characteristics of a rural settlement: the territory, the population, the legal regime. <...> On their basis determined by the nature of rural settlement as a socio-legal phenomenon. <...> В статье выделяются формально-юридические признаки сельского поселения: территория, население, правовой режим. <...>