Why Do Citizens Trust the Government? The Origins of Political Trust in Modern Russia

Abstract

Political trust is central to the study of political regimes. The level of public support for a government or party is one of the most important indicators of political legitimacy and stability. The article examines the quantitative indicators of the influence of socio-psychological, civic, institutional, and informational factors on political trust. The purpose of the study was to understand the factors influencing trust in the Russian government. The analysis was based on data from the sociological survey of the 7th wave of the World Values Survey (2017-2022). Using the Russian data set, the authors assessed the impact of interpersonal and general trust, involvement in non-profit and non-governmental organizations, citizens’ perceptions of their financial situation, security and corruption, and watching TV news on trust in government institutions. This study shows that high levels of interpersonal and societal trust have a positive impact on political trust. This study proposes and confirms the hypothesis that watching political television programs improves trust in the government. The article complements existing empirical studies on institutional trust and adapts well-known theories explaining the origin of trust to the Russian political context.