diff --git a/doc/bird.sgml b/doc/bird.sgml
index 1191fa03..ae308d4c 100644
--- a/doc/bird.sgml
+++ b/doc/bird.sgml
@@ -1691,6 +1691,7 @@ supports the following per-interface configuration options:
 protocol babel [<name>] {
 	ipv4 { <channel config> };
 	ipv6 [sadr] { <channel config> };
+        randomize router id <switch>;
 	interface <interface pattern> {
 		type <wired|wireless>;
 		rxcost <number>;
@@ -1713,6 +1714,15 @@ protocol babel [<name>] {
       <tag><label id="babel-channel">ipv4 | ipv6 [sadr] <m/channel config/</tag>
       The supported channels are IPv4, IPv6, and IPv6 SADR.
 
+      <tag><label id="babel-random-router-id">randomize router id <m/switch/</tag>
+      If enabled, Bird will randomize the top 32 bits of its router ID whenever
+      the protocol instance starts up. If a Babel node restarts, it loses its
+      sequence number, which can cause its routes to be rejected by peers until
+      the state is cleared out by other nodes in the network (which can take on
+      the order of minutes). Enabling this option causes Bird to pick a random
+      router ID every time it starts up, which avoids this problem at the cost
+      of not having stable router IDs in the network. Default: no.
+
       <tag><label id="babel-type">type wired|wireless </tag>
       This option specifies the interface type: Wired or wireless. On wired
       interfaces a neighbor is considered unreachable after a small number of
diff --git a/proto/babel/babel.c b/proto/babel/babel.c
index 797a83d4..ce05191c 100644
--- a/proto/babel/babel.c
+++ b/proto/babel/babel.c
@@ -2226,6 +2226,14 @@ babel_init(struct proto_config *CF)
   return P;
 }
 
+static inline void
+babel_randomize_router_id(struct babel_proto *p)
+{
+  p->router_id &= (u64) 0xffffffff;
+  p->router_id |= ((u64) random()) << 32;
+  TRACE(D_EVENTS, "Randomized router ID to %lR", p->router_id);
+}
+
 static int
 babel_start(struct proto *P)
 {
@@ -2244,6 +2252,9 @@ babel_start(struct proto *P)
   p->update_seqno = 1;
   p->router_id = proto_get_router_id(&cf->c);
 
+  if (cf->randomize_router_id)
+    babel_randomize_router_id(p);
+
   p->route_slab = sl_new(P->pool, sizeof(struct babel_route));
   p->source_slab = sl_new(P->pool, sizeof(struct babel_source));
   p->msg_slab = sl_new(P->pool, sizeof(struct babel_msg_node));
diff --git a/proto/babel/babel.h b/proto/babel/babel.h
index b194ce30..e5c9cd5b 100644
--- a/proto/babel/babel.h
+++ b/proto/babel/babel.h
@@ -112,6 +112,7 @@ struct babel_config {
   struct proto_config c;
   list iface_list;			/* List of iface configs (struct babel_iface_config) */
   uint hold_time;			/* Time to hold stale entries and unreachable routes */
+  u8 randomize_router_id;
 
   struct channel_config *ip4_channel;
   struct channel_config *ip6_channel;
diff --git a/proto/babel/config.Y b/proto/babel/config.Y
index 7adfb4bb..205b4e4f 100644
--- a/proto/babel/config.Y
+++ b/proto/babel/config.Y
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ CF_DECLS
 CF_KEYWORDS(BABEL, INTERFACE, METRIC, RXCOST, HELLO, UPDATE, INTERVAL, PORT,
 	TYPE, WIRED, WIRELESS, RX, TX, BUFFER, PRIORITY, LENGTH, CHECK, LINK,
 	NEXT, HOP, IPV4, IPV6, BABEL_METRIC, SHOW, INTERFACES, NEIGHBORS,
-	ENTRIES)
+	ENTRIES, RANDOMIZE, ROUTER, ID)
 
 CF_GRAMMAR
 
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ babel_proto_item:
    proto_item
  | proto_channel
  | INTERFACE babel_iface
+ | RANDOMIZE ROUTER ID bool { BABEL_CFG->randomize_router_id = $4; }
  ;
 
 babel_proto_opts: