President Dmitry Medvedev said today that starting next autumn Russia will stop putting its clocks back in winter, meaning that Moscow will be four hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) all year round.
Medvedev explained the decision by saying that the need to adapt to the time change each year was causing Russians "stress and illness."
Medvedev added that the time change "really disturbs the human biorhythm," and it is "irritating."
Russia has nine time zones, stretching from Kaliningrad on the borders of the European Union to Kamchatka in the Pacific.
Medvedev last year changed Kamchatka's time zone to eight hours rather than nine hours ahead of Moscow, a move that sparked street protests in the Far East region.
compiled from agency reports
Medvedev explained the decision by saying that the need to adapt to the time change each year was causing Russians "stress and illness."
Medvedev added that the time change "really disturbs the human biorhythm," and it is "irritating."
Russia has nine time zones, stretching from Kaliningrad on the borders of the European Union to Kamchatka in the Pacific.
Medvedev last year changed Kamchatka's time zone to eight hours rather than nine hours ahead of Moscow, a move that sparked street protests in the Far East region.
compiled from agency reports