The following institutions enjoy the greatest support among Russians: the army (61%), the president (53%), special services (45%), the church and religious organizations (40%), charities (36%).
The least trusted institutions are political parties (17%), big businesses (18%), trade unions (20%), the State Duma (25%) and the Federation Council (25%).
The main political institutions
Meanwhile trust in the main political institutions is decreasing: for the president – from 75% (2017) to 53% (2021), for the State Duma – from 33% (2017) to 25% (2021), for the government – from 35% (2017) to 33% (2021), for political parties – from 19% (2017) to 17% (2021).
The army, law enforcement and the court
In recent years, there has been a gradual decline in confidence in law enforcement agencies. In 2017 69% trusted the army, while 57% trusted the FSB and other special services, and in 2021 these indicators were 61% and 45% respectively.
The church, media and charities
Trust in the church and religious organizations has been declining since 2014: 54% in 2014, 28% in 2021. Trust in the media has grown over the past 5 years from 27% in 2016 to 36% in 2021.
Economic organizations
Among economic organizations, small and medium-sized businesses enjoy the greatest amount of trust (33%) – a decrease of 5% compared to 2020. Big businesses are trusted the least (18%) – a decrease of 5 percentage points from 2020.
Methodology
This survey was conducted August 19 – 26 2021, among a representative sample of all Russian urban and rural residents. The sample was comprised of 1619 people aged 18 or older in 137 municipalities of 50 regions of the Russian Federation. The survey was conducted as a personal interview in respondents’ homes. The answer distribution is presented as percentages of the total number of participants along with data from previous surveys.
The statistical error of these studies for a sample of 1600 people (with a probability of 0.95) does not exceed:
3.4% for indicators around 50%
2.9% for indicators around 25%/75%
2.0% for indicators around 10%/90%
1.5% for indicators around 5%/95%
The ANO Levada Center has been included in the registry of non-commercial organizations acting as foreign agents.