Levels of Political Trust among Young People in the Kaliningrad Oblast

Introduction. A high level of political trust is an important element of stable and effective public administration. At the present stage, the topic of the study of political trust in Russia has gained additional relevance due to the significant changes taking place in all public spheres in connection with the growth of international tensions. The aim of this study is to determine the levels of trust of young people in the Kaliningrad Oblast towards domestic political actors representing the Russian authorities.

Methodology and sources. The research is based on the works of Russian researchers devoted to the study of the peculiarities of political trust of Russian residents. On the basis of that there were put forward the hypotheses. The empirical base of the research was the data obtained in the course of a mass survey of young people in the Kaliningrad Oblast (n = 397). The indices of trust in the authorities and political leaders were calculated on their basis.

Results and discussion. The results of the sociological research conducted by the method of online questionnaire are presented. Significant differences in assessments of trust of young people in the Kaliningrad region have been revealed and its levels in relation to the authorities and political leaders have been determined. The highest level of trust is recorded in relation to the Governor of the Kaliningrad Oblast, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation. The average level of trust is demonstrated by young people in relation to state security bodies, the governments of the Russian Federation and the Kaliningrad region, the court and the regional parliament. The State Duma, the Council of Federation, the head of the Kaliningrad administration and the head of the City of Kaliningrad have a low level of trust.

Conclusion. It has been revealed that the political trust of young people in the Kaliningrad region is characterised by the features, which are typical for the Russian population as a whole, such as a high level of trust in the head of state, low trust in parliament and personalisation of trust. Among the specific features of the political trust of young people in the region we can single out a high degree of trust in the governor, as well as the absence of significant differences in trust in the authorities of the federal and regional levels.

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