Values as a Predictor of Political Trust and Readiness for Political Behavior among Russian Youth

Abstract

Russian and foreign scientists have repeatedly noted a decline in public confidence in the government and most political institutions. This article studies the phenomenon of political trust and readiness for political behavior in terms of value orientations among Russian youth. The study carried out diagnostics of the young generation of Russians living in different regions of the Russian Federation, aged 18 to 34 years (n=291). The following were used as methodological tools: scales of political trust (O. A. Gulevich, I. R. Sarieva, 2020); the scale of readiness to participate in political activity (S. Pattyn et al., 2012; J. Van Assche et al., 2018, 2019) and the PVQ-R method for measuring individual values (Schwartz et al., 2012). It was noted that the representatives of Russian youth have a tendency towards social cynicism rather than political trust. It was found that the values of public safety and universalism increase the desire to take part in street actions, in the work of political parties, and encourage participation in signing collective petitions and voting in elections. The values of reputation and benevolence have the strongest influence on trust in authority.