The economy of Russian regions is undergoing financial and economic crises. It forces regional authorities to find new ways for diversification of the regional economy expressed in strategic planning and setting of long-term priorities. Federal authorities provide financial support measures for the implementation of regional projects and initiatives. At the same time, at the federal level there is no unified approach to the choice of supported industries in regions that takes into account, among other things, priorities of regional authorities. In this paper, the authors aim to develop recommendations for improving the effectiveness of regional development support in Russia, based on the experience of the European Union in implementing the concept of smart specialization. The authors adapt European approaches to the Russian reality clarifying recommendations for stimulating economic diversification and interregional cooperation. For this purpose, the paper analyzes the consequences of structural changes that have occurred in the economy of Russian regions over the past ten years: from 2005 to 2015. The Russian version of the smart specialization concept should take into account important national features identified in this study. First, to encourage related variety in regions with a lower level of GRP per capita and to provide support for unrelated one in richer regions. Secondly, to prioritize support of interregional cooperation based on regions with large agglomerations. Third, to eliminate duplication of regional priorities with the exception of regions with a lower level of GRP per capita. The article proposes recommendations for optimizing allocation of budgetary funds from federal sources for the development of industries in regions: proposals for the law on strategic planning and the rules for granting subsidies for regional projects.