Russia Local Time
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Within its internationally recognized borders, Russia is divided into eleven time zones, with current times ranging from UTC 02:00 to UTC 12:00. Until recently, Russia observed daylight saving time (DST), but as of October 26, 2014, DST has been abolished in the country. Continuous Daylight Saving Time was in effect from March 27, 2011, until October 26, 2014.
Identified regions [ edit ]
With effect from December 27, 2020, the following time zones have been in effect:[1][2][3]
"Spring forward" [ edit ]
At first, the Russian Provisional Government mandated the implementation of daylight saving time on July 1, 1917 (or July 14, N.S.). However, the Soviet government issued a decree six months later ordering its abandonment.
From 1981 until about midway through the year 1984, the Soviet Union observed its own version of daylight saving time by setting clocks ahead by one hour at 02:00 local standard time on the last Sunday in March. until 1995, when it shifted to the last Sunday in October at 3:00am local daylight time, when it remained in effect year-round. When a citation is required, [it]
Time in Moscow is now permanently set to UTC-04:00 after being advanced on the usual date of March 27 but not being set back until October 30. As a result of another law change on October 26, 2014, clocks across the country were set back an hour; however, summer Daylight Time was not reinstated, and Moscow Time was once again set to UTC 03:00. [6]
History [ edit ]
Imperial Russia [ edit ]
As a large portion of the Russian Empire did at the time, the majority of the country used solar time. Alaska was part of Russian America from the 1740s until 1867, during which time Russian America followed the Julian calendar and had local times as late as GMT 15:10, 11 or 12 days behind the rest of Russia. Local time in Congress Poland, Russia’s westernmost territory, is 01:10 UTC.
On January 1, [13 January, N.S.E.] 1883, Moscow Mean Time was adopted as the standard time zone for the Russian capital. S date=1880; original time=GMT+2:30:17 Time:[7] 2:30:17 = 37 Moscow's longitude is 616.6667 degrees. For many years, solar time was used in other parts of Russia.
In 1918, Russia switched to the Gregorian calendar, which resulted in a 13-day shortened year (Wednesday, 31 January, Old Style, was followed by Thursday, 14 February, New Style).
Russian Federation [ edit ]
Following the establishment of the Soviet Union, Moscow Time was officially designated as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) 02:00, and the other time zones (up to UTC 12:00) were subsequently implemented across Russia and the rest of the Soviet Union, such as Irkutsk Time (UTC 07:00; Irkutsk has since this always been MSK 5). [7] Between 1917 and 1922, there was less consistency with the time, with daylight saving time in some years, two-hour additions in others, and one- or two-hour additions to winter time in still others. [7]
The Soviet Union instituted year-round daylight saving time (the so-called decree time) on June 21, 1930, by setting all clocks ahead by one hour.
The time zone in Oymyakonsky District went from MSK 6 to MSK 8 at 00:00:00 on 1 April 1981. The change during DST shifted the offset from UTC 09:00 to UTC 12:00, while the change without DST shifted it from UTC 09:00 to UTC 11:00. There is a lack of citation for this section.
Anadyr Time (MSK 10 or UTC 13:00 without DST) was abolished in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug on 1 April 1982 at 00:00:00 when the region switched from the MSK 10 time zone to the MSK 9 time zone. Since the shift occurred during daylight saving time (UTC 14:00 to UTC 13:00), the non-DST offset shifted from UTC 13:00 to UTC 12:00.
Saratov and Volgograd oblasts switched from MSK 1 to MSK 2 at 02:00:00 on March 27, 1988. Changed the offset from UTC 05:00 to UTC 04:00 during DST; without DST, the offset is now UTC 03:00. [10][11]
The following areas converted to Moscow Time (eliminating Samara Time; MSK 1 or UTC 04:00 without DST) on the same day (1989-03-26) that Kaliningrad Oblast made the transition from Moscow Time to Eastern European Time.
- Oblast of Astrakhan
- Oblast of Kirov
- Krai of Kuybyshev
- Location: Ulyanovsk Oblast
Fédération de Russie [ edit ]
On 31 March 1991, Russia and the majority of Soviet Union republics abolished decree time (without changing clocks), but Russia rolled back this change the following year (with the exception of Samara Oblast, which was already in UTC 04:00). If you can't find a citation,
Samara Oblast moved from the MSK time zone to the MSK 1 time zone (reestablishing Samara Time; MSK 1) on October 20, 1991. This moved the time in Samara Oblast from UTC 03:00 to UTC 04:00. [12]
With effect from May 23, 1993, Novosibirsk Oblast shifted from the MSK 4 time zone to the MSK 3 time zone. Since the shift occurred during daylight saving time (DST), the offset was shifted from UTC 08:00 to UTC 07:00; without DST, the shift resulted in an offset of UTC 07:00 to UTC 06:00.
In order to conform to international standards, Altai Krai and Altai Republic switched from MSK 4 to MSK 3 on May 28th, 1995. [14]
In order to conform to the rest of Russia, Sakhalin Oblast switched from MSK 8 to MSK 7 on March 30, 1997. [15]
Time in Tomsk Oblast shifted from MSK 4 to MSK 3 in May 2002. [16]
On March 28, 2010, a number of time zone adjustments were made that ultimately resulted in the elimination of two of the eleven existing time zones.
The Russian government wanted to reduce the number of time zones even further, but there were protests in far eastern Russia on the changes, including a 20,000-person petition in favor of Kamchatka returning to UTC 12:00. [21]
Decree No The UTC offset for Moscow Time and the other time zones was adjusted in Resolution 725 of 31 August 2011. UTC 04:00 became the permanent time zone for the Moscow time zone in [22]. Despite the fact that decree time and daylight saving time no longer exist, this decree mandates the use of daylight saving time year-round (or double DST in areas that have not yet abolished decree time).
Some areas of the Sakha Republic's distance from Moscow were also repositioned per the decree. Specifically, the following areas made the time change from Magadan Time (MSK 8) to Vladivostok Time (MSK 7) and from Vladivostok Time (MSK 7) to Yakutsk Time (MSK 6):
- The Brand-Spanking-New Islands of Siberia
- Section of Tomponsky
- Specifically, the Ust-Maysky neighborhood

Authorities in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, now part of the Russian Federation, ordered the region's clocks to be advanced by two hours at 10 p.m. on March 16, 2014, following the annexation of Crimea by Russia. m On March 29th, 2014, UTC offset by two hours, from UTC 02:00 (Eastern European Time) to UTC 04:00 (Moscow Time). [23]
Additional legislation was passed in July 2014, and it took effect on October 26 of that same year. Almost the entire country of Russia went back an hour, making UTC 03:00 once again Moscow Time. Moscow time offsets were adjusted in some regions.
A new time zone, Srednekolymsk Time (UTC 11:00), was created for the areas of the former Magadan Time zone that remained on MSK 8. No evidence of yearly Daylight Saving Time shifts [25]

On March 27, 2016, the following time zones experienced shifts:[26]
- Sakhalin Oblast advanced from UTC 10:00 to UTC 11:00 (Vladivostok to Srednekolymsk time), with the exception of Severo-Kurilsky District, which was already in UTC 11:00 (Srednekolymsk Time).
- Previously, Zabaykalsky Krai was on UTC 08:00 (Irkutsk time), but now it is on UTC 09:00 (Yakutsk time).
- From UTC 06:00 to UTC 07:00 (Omsk to Krasnoyarsk time), the time in Altai Krai and Altai Republic jumped ahead by one hour.
- From Moscow to Samara time, the time in the oblasts of Astrakhan and Ulyanovsk advanced by one hour, from UTC 03:00 to UTC 04:00.
To account for the time difference between Vladivostok and Srednekolymsk, Magadan Oblast advanced one hour, from UTC 10:00 to UTC 11:00, on April 24, 2016. Following the modification, the time zone corresponding to UTC 11:00 once again became known as Magadan Time. [28]
Tomsk Oblast gained an hour, or shifted from Omsk time to Krasnoyarsk time, on May 29th, 2016, when the UTC time zone was advanced by one hour. [29]
Time in the Novosibirsk Oblast was advanced by one hour, from UTC 06:00 to UTC 07:00 (from Omsk to Krasnoyarsk time), on July 24, 2016. [30]
On December 4, 2016, Saratov Oblast advanced from Moscow-Samara time, or UTC 03:00, to UTC 04:00. [31][32]
As of 28 October 2018, Volgograd Oblast was one hour ahead of UTC (Moscow–Samara time) at UTC +03:00 (27 December 2020: UTC -03:00). [34][35]
Rail time [ edit ]
Before 2018, all Russian Railways schedules (with the exception of Sakhalin Railways) were based on Moscow Time. With effect from 2018, schedules will be based on local time. Airports and flights operate on local time [36, 37]. [38]
Database of Tz [ edit ]

Multiple Russian time zones can be found in the zone.tab file of the tz database.
The complete list of regions [ edit ]
Russia is divided into 16 different zones, which are detailed below. column in the data source The database was created with the intention of locating areas that have followed the same time offset regulations since 1970.
There are two federal subjects that span multiple time zones. There are three distinct regions in the Sakha Republic: the west, the center, and the east. Sakhalin Island and the Kurilsky and Yuzhno-Kurilsky districts in the Kuril Islands, and the Severo-Kurilsky District in the Kuril Islands make up the two halves of Sakhalin Oblast.
When Daylight Saving Time ended in tzdata on the last Sunday of October 2011, the time was advanced by one hour everywhere else. This means that while no actual time changes occurred, the names of the time zones have returned to their standard time variants and Daylight Saving Time will no longer be observed. If you can't find a citation,
If the tz database has a change column, it will show the offset changes that led to the creation of the zone.
The term "initial zone" refers to a time zone that already had a time difference from other zones by 1970.
Wastelands that have been eliminated [ edit ]
The tz database included Asia/Ulan Ude as a time zone identifier in its zone file. Ulan-Ude served as the point of comparison. 2011e version of tz now includes it. The item [41] was removed from the 2011i edition. Asia/Irkutsk was maintained as the zone. The information in zone.tab included:
RU +5150+10736 Asia/Ulan_Ude Moscow+5: BuryatiaThe Buryatia Republic was the focus of this article.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
- ^ Article 5 Time Zones, Consultant Plus Federal Law No. 107-FZ of June 3, 2011 (as amended on December 22, 2020) "On the Calculation of Time" (in russian)
- ^ Russia's time zones, including the current time and date in each region, from October 28, 2018, UTC/GMT.
- ^ Date and Time Zones in Use Today in Russia, Timeanddate.com com
- ^ Cities and their populations in the Russian Federation, from the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia Translation:(in Russian)
- ^ "Медведев отменил зимнее время" Lenta ru 8 Février, 2011 Retrieved 8 February 2011
- ^ Russia makes its final time change, BBC News, October 25.
- ^ a b c Differences in Moscow, Russia's Time Zone and Clocks www timeanddate com
- ^ Time Zone Shift in Ust-Nera, Russia, 1981 Timeanddate com
- ^ Time Zone Shift in 1982: Anadyr, Russia Timeanddate com
- ^ Date and Time Stamps from 1988 in Saratov, Russia Timeanddate com
- ^ Time Zone Shift in Volgograd, Russia, 1988 Timeanddate com
- ^ 1991 Time Zone Shift in Samara, Russia Timeanddate com
- ^ Time Zone Shift in 1993: Russia, Novosibirsk Timeanddate com Obtained on June 7, 2014
- ^ Timing adjustments in Barnaul, Russia in 1995 Timeanddate com
- ^ Timing Adjustments in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, 1997 Timeanddate com
- ^ Timing adjustments in 2002 in Tomsk, Russia Timeanddate com
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации Постановление №171 от 19 марта 2010 г «О применении на территории Камчатского края и Чукотского автономного округа времени десятого часового пояса» Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №58, 22 марта 2010 г (The Russian Federation's Central Government) Adopting the Time of the Tenth Time Zone Throughout the Territory of Kamchatka Krai and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Resolution No. 171 of March 19, 2010 )
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации Постановление №740 от 14 сентября 2009 г «О применении на территории Кемеровской области времени пятого часового пояса» (Russian Federation Government) Adopting the Fifth Time Zone in Kemerovo Oblast, Resolution No. 740 of September 14, 2009. )
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации Постановление №166 от 17 марта 2010 г «О применении на территории Удмуртской Республики времени второго часового пояса» Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №58, 22 марта 2010 г (The Russian Federation's Central Government) Udmurt Republic Resolution No. 166 of 2010: Adopting the Second Time Zone Throughout Its Borderlands )
- ^ Правительство Российской Федерации Постановление №170 от 19 марта 2010 г «О применении на территории Самарской области времени второго часового пояса» Опубликован: "Российская Газета", №58, 22 марта 2010 г (The Russian Federation Government) Samara Oblast Second Time Zone Adoption Resolution No. 170, 19 March 2010 )
- ^ In Russia, Tens of Thousands Rally Against Time Changes Dec. 13th, 2010 Retrieved 15 January 2011
- ^ Постановление Правительства Российской Федерации № 725 от 31 августа 2011 г. «О составе территорий, образующих каждую часовую зону, и порядке исчисления времени в часовых зонах, а также о признании утратившими силу отдельных постановлений Правительства Российской Федерации».
- ^ A "Moscow time" change has been implemented in Crimea. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 29 March 2014 Website archived on March 30, 2014 Retrieved 29 March 2014
- ^ World Time Zone, 22 July 2014 "New Russian Time Zones and their Corresponding Areas Beginning October 26, 2014"
- ^ RIA Novosti (2014, July 22). "Russia Moving to Permanent Winter Time From October 26."
- ^ Timeanddate.com Announces Multiple Time Zone Shifts in Russia website as of 17 March 2016
- ^ Time Zone Shifts to Magadan, Russia, Timeanddate Sunday, April 7th, 2016 - com
- ^ Magadan, Russia Time & Date Observances
- ^ Tomsk, Russia, Time Change Proposed (Timeanddate.com) April 27, 2016
- ^ Time/Date Proposed Change for Novosibirsk, Russia 5 July 2016, www.com
- ^ Date and Time of Proposed Time Changes in Saratov, Russia, Timeanddate Friday, November 18th, 2016 - com, 14 November 2016
- ^ Saratov Oblast's Time Change Law Signed by Vladimir Putin, Vzglyad-info, November 22. (in russian)
- ^ Timeanddate.com Now Shows a Different Time Zone for Russia's Volgograd Region October 3, 2018, com
- ^ Volgograd, Russia's New Time Zone, Timeanddate.com website, December 17, 2020
- ^ Russian Federation Official Website for Legal Information, 22 December 2020, No. 432-FZ, "On Amendments to Article 5 of Federal Law 'On the Calculation of Time'" (in russian)
- ^ The Moscow time zone will no longer be used by Russian trains. Business Standard, 25 July 2018.
- ^ Schedules for Russian Railways
- ^ For instance, see http://www.iktport.ru/.
- ^ As of May 1, Moscow Oblast entered a new time zone (news from NEWSru.com) [Russian] Newsru com Date Obtained: June 7, 2014
- ^ changes to the proposed time zone package Gmane Date Obtained: June 7, 2014
- ^ proposed adjustments to the time zone package for Chile, Russia, Irkutsk, Buryatia, and Morocco Gmane Accessible as of June 7, 2014
Internet resources [ edit ]
- Locations and times of day across Russia's time zones

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