This article presents the views on solving the current problems of Russian single-industry towns in the context of macroeconomic instability. The historical and economic aspects of the emergence of factory cities in tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, the role of the phenomenon of single-industry towns in the development of the domestic material and technological base are investigated. It is indicated that the peak of the development of the single-industry model of management occurred during the existence of the planned economy in the USSR, but in the modern market model, the functioning of single-industry towns turned into a tangible state problem due to the under-fulfi llment of social functions by city-forming enterprises. The most signifi cant systemic (natural) and non-systemic (accidental) risks aff ecting the functioning of single-industry towns in modern conditions and contributing to their extinction are considered. The applied aspect of the article is that its conclusions can be used by public authorities in drawing up programs for regional development and reform of single-industry settlements.