Keyword: «northern regions»

The article uses statistical methods to explore the prospects for the innovative development of the Republic of Karelia. The authors consider such features of the geographical position of Karelia as frontierity, northernness, and peripherality. With the help of a statistical analysis of the totality of the Russian regions, hypotheses were confirmed about the negative impact of such geographically determined characteristics of the development of the republic as border status, northernness and peripherality on the development of the republic’s innovation system. Taking into account the restraining nature of geographical conditions, the improvement of the quality of public administration and improvement of the institutional environment of innovation activity becomes the main driver of innovative development of Karelia in the future. That is, regional authorities (of Karelia and other subjects of the Russian Federation with similar problems) can direct their efforts towards creating conditions in the region that provide an adequate system of incentives for innovation. This is the main vector of innovative development of the Republic of Karelia.