The article analyzes the model and mechanisms of formation of the trust in the Russian higher education system and universities. The purpose of the article is to reveal the content of the model of formation of the trust as a relationship between various social mechanisms of its establishment. The authors consider the possibilities of implementing this model in the practices of Russian higher education. The author presents the methodology of research on trust in higher education, which includes management, community and resource dimensions. The article is based on the results of two sociological studies carried out in 2017 and 2019 in the Ural Federal district. Based on these data, we obtained results that characterize the crisis of trust relations between key educational and managerial communities. The article shows that the destruction of trust in higher education occurs against the background of a sharp decline in trust in the main social institutions of society. The article presents seven social mechanisms that in their interrelation create the basis for a model of restoring trust in Russian higher education.