Meshtastic networks in Russia

Meshtastic in Russia is different from most of Europe in one important way: Russian nodes should not normally use the EU_868 firmware region. Meshtastic provides a dedicated RU region for the Russian 868 MHz short-range-device allocation.

Russia does not have a separate Russian Meshtastic protocol. The over-the-air packet format, encryption and mesh routing are standard Meshtastic. What differs is the permitted RF sub-band and the settings coordinated by local communities. Several Russian cities also operate their own maps, MQTT gateways, Telegram bridges and message archives, which can make the ecosystem appear like a separate standard.

Last reviewed: 30 July 2026. This is practical research, not legal advice. Operators should verify current rules and equipment requirements with the Russian regulator before transmitting.

The short answer

Question	Practical answer
Which Meshtastic region?	`RU`, not `EU_868`
Meshtastic RU frequency range	868.7–869.2 MHz
Common community frequency	869.075 MHz, normally shown as frequency slot 2
Common modem preset	Historically `LongFast`; some city networks now use `MediumFast`
Maximum stated for 868.7–869.2 MHz	100 mW EIRP, with a duty cycle no greater than 10% or use of LBT
Registration-free threshold	Up to 25 mW EIRP in 864–870 MHz under the exemption listed in Government Resolution No. 1800
Protocol	Normal Meshtastic; local services and settings are not a separate protocol

Why Russia has its own RU profile

The official Meshtastic country table assigns Russia to the RU region. In current firmware, that region covers 868.7–869.2 MHz and sets a firmware power ceiling of 20 dBm. It also enables Listen Before Talk, or LBT.

The European EU_868 profile used by many neighboring countries concentrates Meshtastic traffic around 869.525 MHz. That frequency is outside the Russian RU profile. Two otherwise identical nodes—one set to RU and the other to EU_868—will therefore normally not hear one another.

The regional profile controls the radio band, permissible channel slots and firmware power ceiling. It does not replace the Meshtastic protocol and it does not guarantee that the selected transmit power is legal for a particular antenna installation.

Russian frequency and power rules

The State Commission for Radio Frequencies, commonly abbreviated as GKRCh or SCRF, provides the general framework for short-range devices. The relevant published table permits non-specific short-range devices in 868.7–869.2 MHz at up to 100 mW EIRP when the working cycle is no more than 10%, or when a Listen Before Talk access mechanism is used. See the official appendix to Decision No. 18-46-03-1.

“Up to 100 mW” does not necessarily mean “no paperwork.” The exemption schedule attached to Government Resolution No. 1800 is generally read as exempting short-range equipment in 864–870 MHz from registration only up to 25 mW EIRP. A permanent installation above that threshold may require registration even if it remains below the band’s technical maximum.

EIRP includes antenna gain:

EIRP (dBm) ≈ transmitter power (dBm) + antenna gain (dBi) − cable loss (dB)

For example, a node configured for 20 dBm and connected to a 5 dBi antenna with 1 dB of feed-line loss produces approximately 24 dBm EIRP, or about 250 mW. That exceeds both 100 mW and the 25 mW registration-free threshold. A firmware power value cannot be assessed without the antenna and cable.

Russian rules also make spectrum use secondary and non-protected: a short-range device must not cause unacceptable interference and cannot demand protection from authorized radio services. LBT reduces collisions, but it does not turn the band into an unrestricted channel or remove every legal condition.

What about 433 MHz?

Russian communities sometimes experiment with 433 MHz, and Moscow has published a secondary 433 MHz configuration. However, this is not the main interoperable Russian Meshtastic network.

The 433.05–434.79 MHz short-range allocation has substantially lower power limits for common telemetry and signaling uses. The official GKRCh material lists a 5 mW transmitter limit and a maximum 3 dBi antenna gain for the relevant category. The band is also widely used by alarms, remote controls and other consumer devices.

Some community instructions configure a non-Russian 433 MHz firmware profile merely to reach a desired frequency slot. That is an experimental compatibility workaround, not evidence that the foreign profile itself is a Russian regulatory authorization. For a new public network, 868 MHz hardware with the RU region is the clearer choice.

The practical Russian network convention

There is no single national organization imposing one configuration. Nevertheless, a recognizable convention has emerged across several public communities:

Region: RU
Common center frequency: 869.075 MHz
Common slot: frequency slot 2
Primary public channel: the default channel associated with the selected modem preset, commonly using the public key AQ==
Modem preset: often LongFast, but not universally

The Moscow beginner configuration and the broader Russian community table both document the 869.075 MHz convention. This is a community interoperability choice, not a frequency assigned exclusively to Meshtastic.

Local settings must always take priority when joining an existing network. Nodes with different presets cannot decode each other even when they use the same center frequency.

Saint Petersburg: a current example

Saint Petersburg shows how Russian networks can diverge from the older national convention while remaining standard Meshtastic. Its current public guide specifies:

Setting	Published Saint Petersburg value
Region	`RU`
Preset	`MediumFast`
Frequency	869.075 MHz
Slot	2
Primary channel	`MediumFast`, public PSK `AQ==`
Suggested hop limit	5, with lower values recommended for suitable fixed nodes
MQTT	Not required for normal RF participation; downlink discouraged for beginners

See the community’s current device configuration. Its move to MediumFast increases network capacity compared with LongFast, at the cost of some theoretical link budget. A visitor using the older LongFast convention on 869.075 MHz will still not join the Saint Petersburg mesh.

Onemesh, TMesh and Russian MQTT services

Several Russian communities add internet-connected services around the radio mesh:

Onemesh provides a public node map and network statistics.
TMesh bridges selected Meshtastic functions with Telegram.
Mesh Mirror archives or analyzes public over-the-air chat and packet propagation.
Local MQTT brokers can move packets between gateways or feed community services.

These services are not a new radio protocol. A Meshtastic node can participate entirely over LoRa without MQTT, Onemesh or Telegram. Internet downlink should be enabled only according to the local network’s policy: uncontrolled downlink can inject distant traffic back into RF and overload a city mesh.

Russian MQTT infrastructure is also not necessarily national. The Saint Petersburg guide explicitly warns that the broker at mqtt.meshtastic.org.ru is intended for Voronezh, not as a universal broker for every Russian node.

Publicly documented communities

Network or community	Area	Published radio information	Public evidence	Last checked
Meshtastic Moscow	Moscow and surrounding region	`RU`, commonly 869.075 MHz; published guides use slot 2	Beginner guide · Community page	30 Jul 2026
Meshtastic Saint Petersburg	Saint Petersburg and Leningrad region	`RU`, `MediumFast`, 869.075 MHz, slot 2	Community wiki	30 Jul 2026
Meshtastic Voronezh	Voronezh	Local configuration and local MQTT infrastructure; verify current values on the community site	Website · Telegram	30 Jul 2026
Mesh Community Ivanovo	Ivanovo region	See current community guidance	Website	30 Jul 2026
Barnaul Meshtastic community	Barnaul	Local settings not independently verified	Official community directory	30 Jul 2026
Magnitogorsk Meshtastic	Magnitogorsk	Local settings not independently verified	Official community directory	30 Jul 2026
Kaliningrad Meshtastic community	Kaliningrad	Local settings not independently verified	Official community directory	30 Jul 2026

A public community page proves organization, not continuous RF coverage. Maps are also incomplete because publishing a node’s position is optional and internet-fed nodes can appear alongside nodes heard directly by radio.

Meshtastic, MeshCore and LoRaWAN are not interchangeable

Russia’s RU setting is a Meshtastic regional profile, not a universal Russian LoRa standard. MeshCore, LoRaWAN and private LoRa systems may use the same hardware and the same legal band, but they use different packet formats and routing models.

Meshtastic uses Meshtastic packets, channels and node roles.
MeshCore uses its own companion, repeater and room-server protocol. A Russian MeshCore deployment must manually select legal Russian RF parameters; an EU/UK default around 869.525 MHz should not be assumed suitable.
LoRaWAN uses gateways and network servers rather than the Meshtastic conversational mesh protocol.

Matching only the frequency is insufficient. Radios must also use the same protocol, bandwidth, spreading factor, coding rate and network configuration.

Recommended setup procedure

Buy hardware designed for the 868 MHz band.
Select the Meshtastic RU region before enabling transmission.
Find the nearest public community and use its current preset and slot.
Calculate EIRP from transmitter power, antenna gain and cable loss.
Keep the installation at or below the registration-free threshold unless the required registration and other conditions have been confirmed.
Leave MQTT downlink disabled unless the local network explicitly asks for it.
Use conservative position, telemetry and node-information intervals so the shared channel is not flooded.

Sources and corrections

If a local setting or legal reference has changed, send MeshAtlas the city, current frequency, modem preset, slot, public source and date checked. Do not submit private channels, keys or precise home-node coordinates.

Russia spans Europe and Asia. This page is linked from both regional directories.