Trust and Ethnic Attitudes as Elements of Regional Social Capital

Based on research conducted in eight Russian regions, trust and ethnic attitudes are analyzed as parts of regional social capital. It is concluded that in communities with a high level of ethnicity bonding (according to R. Putnam), social capital helps to sustain their cultural identity, while bridging social capital creates the conditions for the formation of the civil society. Intra-ethnic trust, ethnic solidarity, actualized ethnic identity and ethnopolitical mobilization are analyzed as parts of the bonding social capital. Inter-ethnic and generalized trust, trust in neighbors and colleagues, ethnic tolerance and readiness for the integration of migrants are considered as elements of bridging social capital. Ethnic diversity of Russian society can be converted into social capital, however, these processes occur unevenly in different regions. Ethnic solidarity is the most influential element of bonding social capital, it is made manifest from 70% in Tatarstan to 95% in Astrakhan region. Bridging social capital is more differentiated. For example, figures for such elements as trust in neighbors and colleagues and readiness for the integration of migrants in Moscow and Moscow region are much lower than in other regions. At the same time, it is in Moscow that generalized trust as the key element of the bridging social capital is actively involved in the formation of ethnic tolerance. In order for the democracy attitudes and civil structures to be successfully established in the regional communities, there should be a balance between intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic trust together with high level of confidence in the regional and local governments, as well as in the judiciary system. But the development of the civic culture is still lagging behind the cultural level of inter-ethnic trust: in all the regions under analysis, confidence in regional and local authorities is below the level of the inter-ethnic trust.