Russia reduced the number of its time zones to nine from 11 today after President Dmitry Medvedev said this could make the nation more manageable to run and boost its economy. Mr Medvedev said in a state of the nation address last November that the sprawling nation ought to reduce the number of its time zones, and that China and the United States ran efficiently with much fewer time zones.
As Russia adjusted its clocks forward one hour this morning (March 28) to shift to summer time, its easternmost Chukotka and Kamchatka peninsulas, located near the US state of Alaska, went from being nine hours ahead of Moscow to eight, joining the same time zone as the neighboring Magadan region.
The Samara region on the Volga river and Udmurtia in the Urals - the European part of Russia - lost their own time zone one hour ahead of Moscow and were brought into line with Moscow time.
Kemerovo, the only Siberian region four hours ahead of Moscow, joined a group of Siberian regions three hours ahead of the Russian capital.
Russia occupies some 17 million square km (6.6 million square miles), making it by far the largest nation in the world, and covers more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. President Medvedev has suggested that the number of Russia’s time zones could eventually be reduced to just five. He has also told government experts to study whether to continue the practice of shifting summer to winter time and back every year.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
As Russia adjusted its clocks forward one hour this morning (March 28) to shift to summer time, its easternmost Chukotka and Kamchatka peninsulas, located near the US state of Alaska, went from being nine hours ahead of Moscow to eight, joining the same time zone as the neighboring Magadan region.
The Samara region on the Volga river and Udmurtia in the Urals - the European part of Russia - lost their own time zone one hour ahead of Moscow and were brought into line with Moscow time.
Kemerovo, the only Siberian region four hours ahead of Moscow, joined a group of Siberian regions three hours ahead of the Russian capital.
Russia occupies some 17 million square km (6.6 million square miles), making it by far the largest nation in the world, and covers more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. President Medvedev has suggested that the number of Russia’s time zones could eventually be reduced to just five. He has also told government experts to study whether to continue the practice of shifting summer to winter time and back every year.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)