The paper is devoted to the comparative analysis of international relations of Russia’s border region (the Republic of Karelia) and internal region (the Republic of Komi). Today the value of humanitarian and social issues increases in world politics. That’s why the importance of sub-national actors grows. The geographical factor has a significant impact on international relations of Russian regions. Therefore the research approach is based on the institutional theory. This approach raises the legal, organizational and interactional issues of sub-state’s international relations.