MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. The level of trust towards the Russian army in society ranges 79% to 86%, which is the highest level ever, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said in a panel discussion at the youth forum Terra Scientia on Tuesday.

"Opinion polls of 10-12 years ago found that the level of trust was at 27%-29%. There was the certainty that our army was capable of defending the country and could be counted on. Now the level of trust ranges 79%-86%. It is the most trusted institution in the country," he said.

He added that the Russian Orthodox Church was second.

"Of course, this is not a result of some attempts to inflate sociological parameters. A great deal had to be done to this end," Shoigu said.

He recalled that President Vladimir Putin had adopted a large program for the rearmament of the armed forces. Alongside this, Shoigu went on to say, there had to be a special program to ensure "the money that is spent on the purchase of weapons should be used properly."

"This means that the defense-industrial complex had to be upgraded. Very large resources were allocated for that, too," Shoigu said. He stressed that currently the Russian army surpassed all others in terms of the modern weapons rate.