Social security in Russian regions is determined by a complex of global and all-Russian threats and unique local dangers and risks arising from the peculiarities of geographic, social, economic and socio-cultural development, historically developed features of social interactions of members of the regional community. Border regions as buffer zones between economic, political and cultural boundaries, have their own characteristics relevant to examine in the context of modernization of the Russian society, and needed to develop a differentiated approach in the regulation of regional development. Based on the results of a complex scientific research, including psychosemantic experiments and sociological surveys in six border regions of Russia, the authors analyze the peculiarities of perception of actual risks and threats and their main dimensions, evaluate security conditions, present models of individual and institutional factors of social security, among which the key the role is played by socio-demographic factors, the level of material well-being and human capital, as well as generalized and institutional social trust. The authors conclude that there is a close relationship between the level of social security and social differentiation of the regional society, uneven distribution of risks and threats, and significant differences in the possession of resources (material and non-material) to overcome them both at the individual and regional levels. The unsatisfactory situation with the provision of social security in a broad sense leads to an increase in the dissatisfaction of the population and contributes to the "pushing" of the most active part of it from the regional spaces.