Relationship of Trust in Local Self-Gevernment and Participation in Self-Governing Practices

The dynamics of trust in local self-government bodies and the participation of Russians in self-government practices at the local level in their interrelation is revealed. The results of sociological research conducted in the Tver Region are presented (2012–2022). The method of formalized interviewing is used. A comparison with the data of all-Russian surveys is made. The results of measuring the level of trust in local self-government are presented. A comparative analysis of trust in municipal, regional and federal public authorities was carried out. The activist attitudes of Russians and the level of their real participation in the practices of local self-government are investigated. The results of the study demonstrate a low level of citizens' trust in municipal bodies and their participation in self-governing practices. The analysis of the dynamics of institutional trust in local self-government bodies and civic engagement demonstrates a tendency for their growth during the last crisis years under the influence of both objective and subjective factors. The article pays special attention to the analysis of subjective factors. Conclusions are drawn about the formation of conditions for the unfolding of a self-governing trend in society and the development of local self-government at a new qualitative level with the predominance of activist, rather than paternalistic orientations.