Russia phone code +7: mobile format & how to dial

Key facts

International code+7

International format+7 9XX XXX XX XXe.g. +7 912 345 67 89

Mobile prefixes9XX XXX XX XXe.g. 912 345 67 89

Mobile length10 digits

Domestic trunk8

How to read a number

+79123456789

+7Country code: +7 is shared by Russia and Kazakhstan. Tell them apart by the digit that follows: Kazakh numbers start with 6 or 7, Russian mobiles start with 9.
9Start of the mobile number: The national part of a Russian mobile number is always 10 digits and begins with 9. Written nationally as 89…; that leading 8 is the national trunk prefix and is replaced by +7 when dialling from abroad.
123456789Remaining 9 digits: The first three are the numbering-zone (DEF) code, allocated to operators in blocks and recorded in the Ministry of Digital Development’s numbering registry. But Russia allows porting, so the digits do not tell you which operator the SIM is on now.

Written nationally as 8 912 345-67-89. Russians normally read numbers out in 3-3-2-2 groups.

This section checked 2026-09-17. Sources: opendata.digital.gov.ru/registry/numeric/ · moskva.beeline.ru/customers/products/mobile/services/details/mnp/

Number ranges & quality

Range	Type	Notes
`9xx (e.g. 9xx-xxx-xx-xx, 10 digits)`	Mobile carrier	Russian physical carrier ranges (MTS / Beeline / MegaFon / Tele2). Shares +7 with Kazakhstan: Russian numbers start with 9, Kazakh numbers start with 7.
`Ranges used for internet telephony`	VoIP	SIP and internet-phone numbers; often rejected when signing up for SMS-based services.

Intl SMSStable

Virtual-number riskMedium

ID requiredForeigners must apply in person with a passport, a Gosuslugi account, EBS biometrics and the phone’s IMEI; max 10 numbers per document (303-FZ, from 1 January 2025).

Russia is not on the service-regions list of OpenAI, Anthropic or Google, so ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cannot be registered. X is restricted locally (needs a VPN), and since 2022 TikTok has limited new content uploads — sign-up and login work but features are restricted. WhatsApp and Telegram (extremely popular in Russia) work normally.

Carriers & prefixes

Mobile prefixes by carrier.

Number portability applies — a prefix only shows the original carrier. Porting is available. By law it takes a minimum of 8 days from the day you sign with the new operator; you can pick any porting date between 8 days and 6 months, and if you pick none the number moves on day 8. Conditions: the number must be in your own name, your details must match those held by the current operator, the account must have no debt, and at least 60 days must have passed since any previous port. The fee is 100 roubles. Watch out when changing region: Beeline states that from 1 September 2026, porting with a simultaneous region change is only handled in its own stores, and that after a number moves to a different region it may stop receiving calls from landlines. So Russian number ranges likewise only show who originally issued the number. This site does not publish a "which range belongs to which operator" table for Russia: the official numbering registry is raw range-level data rather than a ready-made operator table, and combined with porting, assembling one would mislead more than it helps.

MTS Mobile carrier

Owned by Sistema. One of the largest operators in Russia by subscribers.
MegaFon Mobile carrier

Owned by USM Holdings.
Beeline Mobile carrier

Operated by PJSC VimpelCom.
T2 Mobile carrier

Owned by Rostelecom (100%). Note the name change: on 4 September 2024 Tele2 became T2 — the company says it chose not to renew the Tele2 brand licence, which expired at the end of 2024. Plenty of older travel guides still say "Tele2"; this is the same operator.

This section checked 2026-09-17. Sources: moskva.beeline.ru/customers/products/mobile/services/details/mnp/ · msk.t2.ru/journal/article/rebranding · www.company.rt.ru/en/ir/news_calendar/d454414/ · opendata.digital.gov.ru/registry/numeric/ · moskva.mts.ru/ · moskva.megafon.ru/

SIM cards & keeping a number

Since 1 January 2025, Federal Law 303-FZ (amending the Communications Act) has tightened SIM rules for foreigners: • contracts only in person at an operator store, with a passport, a verified Gosuslugi (public services) account and biometrics (face photo and voice sample) registered at a Russian bank in the Unified Biometric System (EBS); the phone’s IMEI goes into the contract and the SIM works only in that phone; • at most 10 numbers per foreign document across all operators — exceed it and all are blocked (MTS); • older SIMs whose owners didn’t confirm their identity under the new rules lost service from 1 July 2025 (RIA Novosti). Setting up Gosuslugi and biometrics means visits to a bank or public services centre, so short-term visitors can hardly get one, and it isn’t suited to keeping a number.

Russian local SIM (MTS as an example)

Local prepaid

Network: MTS / MegaFon / Beeline / t2 own networks
Price: Plan-based
Keeping the number: MTS: after 30 days without a paid action, a number-retention fee of 1.5 ₽/day starts; any paid action such as a call or SMS, or a top-up of 5 ₽ or more, stops it (incoming calls don’t count). On most plans with a monthly fee the number is blocked and the contract ends after 6 months with no charges
ID check: MTS: passport + Gosuslugi account + biometrics registered at a bank + the phone’s IMEI, in person at a store; max 10 numbers per foreign document
SMS & calls: A normal Russian number. MTS: international roaming must be enabled on the number before travel; the per-SMS price for receiving in China isn’t listed — only SMS bundles from 500 ₽

Pros

A normal local number once set up
MTS publishes step-by-step guides in several languages, including Chinese

Watch out

Barely feasible for tourists
A daily retention fee starts after 30 days unused
The SIM is tied to one phone’s IMEI
Resold or proxy-registered SIMs aren’t in your name and will be cut off under the rules

Where to buy: support.mts.ru

Sources: support.mts.ru/mts_mobilnaya_svyaz/oformlenie-i-podtverzhdenie-sim-karti-inostrannim-grazhdaninom/kak-inostrannomu-grazhdaninu-oformit-sim-kartu · support.mts.ru/mts_mobilnaya_svyaz/oformlenie-i-podtverzhdenie-sim-karti-inostrannim-grazhdaninom/chto-delat-esli-bolshe-10-sim-kart-oformleni-na-dokument-drugogo-gosudarstva · support.mts.ru/mts_mobilnaya_svyaz/blokirovka-nomera-problemi-so-svyazyu/blokirovka-iz-za-dolgogo-neispolzovaniya-nomera · support.mts.ru/mts_rouming_i_mezhgorod/svyaz-i-internet-v-populyarnih-stranah/kak-podgotovitsya-k-poezdke-v-kitai · ria.ru/20250701/svyaz-2026408477.html · ebs.ru/ino_sim · base.garant.ru/409494213

From user and blogger reports; platform risk rules change often — treat as a guide only. This section checked 2026-09-15.

Sign-up availability

What to expect when signing up for these services with a physical SIM from this country:

ChatGPT Not supported

Claude Not supported

WhatsApp Works

Telegram Works

LINE Unverified

WeChat Works

X Partly limited

TikTok Partly limited

Gemini Not supported

Jump to another country

Calling Russia from abroad

Dial +7, then the local number. Drop the leading trunk prefix 8.

Generate the full number →

Dialing within Russia

For domestic long distance dial 8 first, then the area code. Local calls and mobiles: dial directly.

Other countries using `+7`

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Elsewhere in Europe

Community tips

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Common premise & disclaimer

Applies to every platform: VoIP / virtual numbers and heavily-reused number pools get rejected. Physical SIM only.

Checked 2026-09-12. Platform region policies and number-range allocations change — always confirm against each platform’s official supported-regions list and the carrier’s notices.

Sources：help.openai.com/articles/7947663 · www.anthropic.com/supported-countries · support.google.com/gemini?p=gemini_web_availability

Russia +7