Trust in political institutions is the most important component of a legitimate state. Based on the authors' empirical research on the participation of Russian youth in local self-government, the article analyzes the trust in the municipal government in comparison with the level of civic engagement. The theoretical basis of the article is the institutional theory. According to it trust can be considered as an integral characteristic of the functioning of a political institution. To study the practice of youth participation in local self-government, the authors conducted an empirical sociological study in October-November 2020. The data collection method is a questionnaire survey of young Russian people aged 14-30 years (n = 2000 people). The article argues that young people are characterized by a high level of declared civic engagement. However, the level of youth trust in local government remains low. The trust is associated with awareness of the activities at level: the lower the level of awareness of young people about the work of local authorities, the lower the level of trust in them.