The Lurie-Vorovich method of homogeneous solutions is discussed with reference to the reduction problem. A general procedure for studying the three-dimensional stress concentration in multiply connected bodies of finite size is proposed. Model problems are solved to examine the influence of geometrical parameters on the stress state. The Lurie-Vorovich method is generalized to media with complicated properties and demonstrated with problems in composite mechanics and crack theory Keywords: layer, thick plate, short cylinder, cubical cylinder, mixed boundary-value problems, homogeneous solutions, isotropic and transversely isotropic media, compositeIntroduction. Solid mechanics is characterized by a collection of concepts and ideas about the processes in natural objects and engineering structures. Experimental and theoretical studies as well as numerical calculations expand our knowledge about the outworld and lead to more sophisticated mathematical models. They more adequately describe phenomena of interest and produce more reliable data on processes in objects under study. Mathematical models are as a rule formalized by posing boundary-value problems whose solution is a complicated and many-sided procedure. The associated difficulties stimulate the modification of available and development of new methods, both analytic and numerical-and-analytic, including direct numerical schemes. An excellent illustration of the foregoing is the problem of strength (reliability) dealing with processes that cause failure of structures. One of the decisive factors leading to failure is stress concentration (SC)-an abrupt local change of the stress field in a solid body. SC is induced by cavities, foreign inclusions, cracks, abruptly changing geometry (corners, curvature discontinuity), nonsmoothness of external load, and boundary sections with different fixation and loading conditions.In the beginning, the theory and design methods were developed by analyzing SC, induced by different factors, based on two-dimensional models of elasticity theory (ET). General methods for solving the plane problem owe their development to Muskhelishvili's methods of complex-variable theory. A considerable contribution to solving the SC problem was made by Savin when he dealt with the engineering design of ground support for mine workings. Very hard and laborious research was done to understand that the stress-strain state (SSS) of a rock mass, even if with SC, can be described by a system of Lamé equations. The results obtained by Savin and his school and summarized in the fundamental monographs [68, 69] made it possible to gain an insight into the complex stress pattern around holes and to ascertain the effect of various factors (the shape of the boundaries, the distance to defects, etc.) on it. Of considerable interest were problems of SC caused by the mutual effect of stress concentrators. The basis for the approaches to solving plane problems for multiply connected domains was laid by