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Civil Society and Social Capital in Russia
Research on civil society in Russia is characterized by a variety of methodological approaches. We understand civil society as a sphere of human activity outside of family, the state and the market. To date, there is a broad spectrum of types of financial and non-financial support for NPOs including informational, consulting and educational support. A new category, socially-oriented nonprofit organizations (SONPOs), was introduced by law in 2010. This category of nonprofits was eligible to receive tax and budgetary benefits and additional government support. In 2019, 74 regional administrations provided SONPOs with the financial support totaling over 48.7 bln rubles ($750 million). Social capital characterizes the society’s capacity for self-organization for common good. One of the most commonly used measures of social capital is the level of trust. Russian government support for the nonprofit sector has not been reflected in international academic debate, which largely remains what can be described as one-sided.