Polling Shows Growing Trust Toward Russia's State & Social Institutions

Polling by independent sociological research firm Levada Center has found that Russians' trust toward virtually all the country's state institutions is on the rise.

The polling, carried out between September 18-21, asked 1,600 adults across 46 Russian regions about the extent to which they trusted various state and public institutions, from the presidency and the government to the church, the army, courts, the police, the media, unions and political parties.

The results showed that more than anyone, Russians trust the president, with 80% answering that he is 'completely trustworthy'. The army also received a high rating, with 64% answering that they 'completely trust' the institution. 

A comparison to figures from last year shows that trust toward the army and the police have increased most significantly, up by 11% and 8%, respectively. Unfortunately, the police appears to have quite a ways yet to go in gaining social trust, with only 29% of respondents answering that they 'completely trust' the institution. Another 43% responded that the police 'does not completely deserve' trust, 19% saying that it 'doesn't deserve' trust at all.

Along with the president (80%), the army (64%) and the church (53%), the only other institutions to reach over 50% 'complete trust' were the country's security services, with 50% answering that they 'completely trust' them, another 25% saying they 'do not completely deserve' trust.

45% of respondents said that they 'completely trust' the government, 40% each that they completely trust the Russian lower and upper houses of parliament, 37% the prosecutor's office, 34% the media, and 32% the city and municipal authorities. Political parties came in last in the rating, with 20% responding that they 'completely trust' them, another 39% saying that they 'do not completely trust them', and 27%  saying that they do not trust them at all.

Measured against 2013, trust in the president's ranking has grown most dramatically, up from 55% in 2013 to 80% in 2015.

Apart from the church, the government, unions and the media, trust for whom has fallen by between 1-4% since highs reached last year, average trust in the country's state and social institutions has been growing, especially compared with 2013. According to Levada Center sociologist Karina Pipia, this is a result of the changes in Russian attitudes toward state and social institutions following Crimea's reunification with Russia.

The full results of Levada's polling can be found here (in Russian).