Can I trust you? : a case study of how social and institutional trust has changed since 2012 in Russia.

Trust in other people and society is fundamental for it to work well. There is also a knowledge gap in research on how and why trust changes over time. To find strategies and reverse negative trust trends and bring about change and increase the willingness to cooperate, knowledge of the phenomenon's change over time is needed. In the last decade, Russia has taken a turn and is becoming more undemocratic. Since President Vladimir Putin's return to power, the country has experienced a democratic decline. Several critical events have taken place and laws have been enforced that restrict human rights and freedoms. The purpose of the study is therefore to examine how social and institutional trust has changed from 2012 until 2020. The empirical material in the essay consists of factors such as: perception of corruption, social trust, institutional trust, economic inequality, and civic participation in in non-profit organizations in the society. The results showed that social trust has decreased while institutional has increased slightly. However, confidence levels are generally low in the Russian society and also in comparison with other democratic countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands