The study is dedicated to the role of social capital in ensuring the competitiveness of the social and economic systems. The indicator of interpersonal trust is used as the important indicator of social capital. Trust and distrust are considered in the article as separate categories, the distrust and its role in the economic component of life in the regions and countries are considered. The theoretical provisions revealing the mechanisms of distrust influence on the economy and the competitiveness of economies are given. The article statistically examines the link of indicators of trust and distrust on the level of countries and Russian regions and the competitiveness of countries and Russian regions. The assessment of parameters of interpersonal trust / distrust at the level of regions of the Russian Federation and the country in general on the basis of the Public Opinion Foundation are provided. The calculations of the correlation between the scores of countries’ competitiveness and credibility of the countries on the basis of survey data from the European Social Survey (ESS), as well as the data of the World Economic Forum on the competitiveness of countries in 2008 and 2010 are also provided. Our empirical study confirmed the link between the low level of interpersonal trust and competitiveness of the Russian economy in general, and the state of the country’s institutions. At the same time, we fail to confirm the link between the indicators of interpersonal trust across regions and economic indicators. This may serve as a confirmation of the fact that regional communities have virtually no effect on the behavior and economic decisions of persons taking decisions in the regions. This can be explained by the lack of relationship between trust to the elites making decisions and their position due to the lack of selectivity of the first persons of regions and mechanisms of the real impact of the population on economic decision-making, as well the lack of mechanisms leading from the trust to the position of the elites. The results of the study can be used for development of policy for appointment / elections of governors, interaction between political elites and the society, in the theoretical studies.