How many time zones in russia

How many time zones are there in Russia?

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The world is divided into 24 time zones, and Russia covers 11 of them. This is the most time zones in any country (not counting overseas territories). When the east of Russia is in the middle of the working day, the western regions are still fast asleep. The closest runners up for the most time zones in one country are the United States and Canada, which both have six.

St. Petersburg time and time zones

Just imagine that a mere 150 years ago the world had no time zones at all. Cities established their own so-called “local solar times,” whereby midday came when the sun reached its zenith. The advent of railroads is what created the need to accurately synchronize time with other localities, and time zones were introduced, first in the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Canada, and then in other countries. Thus appeared Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, i.e. the time in London), which in the 1970s was replaced by the more accurate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

In the Russian Empire, the railroads used St. Petersburg time for all schedules. Officially, Russia joined the international system of time zones only after the Bolshevik Revolution. In 1919, the country was divided into 11 time zones with boundaries that went along railroads and rivers. Subsequently, time zone boundaries in Russia were revised on multiple occasions in attempts to bring them into line with regions’ administrative borders.

But if you thought the whole time zones saga ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union, think again. In 2009, Russia decided to reduce its number of time zones from 11 to 9, but then in 2014 that decision was reversed. Furthermore, some regions cover different time zones. For example, Yakutia now has three time zones (UTC +9, +10, +11). To make things a little easier, people in Russia often refer to Moscow time rather than UTC and designate their time zones as MSK +1, etc.

Winter time forever?

For 50 years, the Soviet Union lived by that time until it was decided again in 1981 to start switching to summer time and back.

In 2011, the government responded to complaints from the many Russians who found it difficult to adapt to changing the clocks twice a year (some even argued that it adversely affected their health), and the practice was abandoned once again. As a result, some regions ended up with a time that was an hour or sometimes even two hours ahead of their geographic time! However, it turned out that the wrong time – summer time in this case – had been chosen as the permanent one.

The government was bombarded with complaints from people who were unable to function normally during what they described as an extra long and dark Russian winter. Finally, in 2014 the government ruled that clocks would go back an hour and remain there. And so it is that, for five years now, Russia has been living permanently in winter time.

Alexander Kislov, Natalya Nosova

2. Moscow time (MSK) (UTC+3) covers Moscow and the European part of Russia.

3. Samara time (SAMT) (UTC+4) covers Astrakhan, Samara, Ulyanovsk and the Saratov regions, as well as the Udmurt Republic.

4. Yekaterinburg time (YEKT) (UTC+5) covers Bashkortostan, the Perm Territory, Kurgan, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions, as well as the Khanty-Mansi and the Yamal-Nenets autonomous areas.

5. Omsk time (OMST) (UTC+6) covers Omsk Region.

6. Krasnoyarsk time (KRAT) (UTC+7) covers the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Altay, Tyva, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions.

7. Irkutsk time (IRKT) (UTC+8) covers Buryatia and the Irkutsk Region.

8. Yakutsk time (YAKT) (UTC+9) covers western Yakutia, Transbaikal Territory and Amur Region.

9. Vladivostok time (VLAT) (UTC+10) covers central Yakutia and the Maritime (Primorsky) Territory.

10. Magadan time (MAGT) (UTC+11) covers eastern Yakutia, as well as the Magadan and Sakhalin regions.

11. Kamchatka (PETT) (UTC+12) covers Kamchatka Territory and the Chukotka autonomous area. The time difference with Moscow is 9 hours.

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Time Zones in Russia

How many time zones does Russia have?

There are 11 time zones in Russia

If you are traveling through Russia, and especially if you are taking a Trans-Siberian tour, keep in mind that the country is split into several time zones, so make sure that you are aware of the time changes during your journey. The borders of the time zones go along the borders of the member states of the Russian Federation, and come to a total of 11 time zones. Starting from 2011, daylight saving time is not used in Russia anymore.

Here you can find link you can find the current local time of whatever part of Russia that you are interested in.

6 Facts About Time Zones in Russia

1. When the sunrises in Moscow, people in the Far East are getting ready for bed.

3. The Republic of Yakutia encompasses three time zones, the Sakhalin region has two and all other Russian regions are within one time zone.

4. In all of Tatarstan, time is measured after Moscow time, but in the neighboring region of Bashkir, they are already two hours ahead. That’s why some of the long-standing bridges that cross the river Ik, which marks the border between the two regions, are jokingly called „the longest ones“.

5. Russia’s favorite holiday is definitely New Year’s. Many people from remote areas celebrate New Year’s twice: once according to local time and once according to Moscow time.

6. Russia’s time zones are constantly moving! The last change was made in the Volgograd region, which switched from Moscow to Samara time in 2018.

How Many Time Zones Are in Russia?

There are 11 time zones across Russia.

Time zones are regions that observe a uniform standard time for social, commercial, and legal reasons. They adhere to the borders on nations, since it is convenient for neighboring states to use the standard time for communication and business reasons. The time of a given region is defined by its offset from the UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The offset is usually by hours or less than an hour in some few places like India (UTC+05:30) and Nepal (UTC+05:45). Russia, the largest country in the world by area, has 11 time zones.

History of Time Zones in Russia

Before the introduction of time zones in the country, every part of Russia had its solar time. The first time zone to be introduced in the country was the Moscow Mean Time (MSK) which was adopted around Moscow in 1880. According to their solar time, Moscow was about 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 17 seconds ahead of the UTC. During that time, Russia was using the Julian calendar; therefore they were 13 days behind all the other parts of Europe. They started using the Gregorian calendar in 1918. Other parts of Russia used their solar time until when the region was split into numerous time zones in 1919.

How Many Time Zones Does Russia Have?

Russia is ranked among the nations with the most time zones in the world right behind France with 12 time zones. Both the United States and Russia have the same number of time zones. Russia has 11 time zones, and it abolished Daylight Savings Time (DST) in 2011. Russia holds the record of the most time zones (10 time zones) in one contiguous region.

Time Zones In Russia

Kaliningrad Time (KALT)

Kaliningrad is an hour behind MSK and 2 hours ahead of the UTC (UTC+02:00). KALT is observed in Kaliningrad Oblast. The region’s time resembled the Eastern European Time with DST until 2011. The country introduced permanent DST on March 27, 2011, setting the region’s time at UTC+3. Russia reversed the law on October 26, 2014, but the DST was never reintroduced leaving KALT set to two hours in front of the UTC.

Moscow Time (MSK)

MSK is observed in Moscow and numerous other cities in western Russia like Saint Petersburg. MSK is the second-westernmost time zone in the country, and it was set to UTC+3 on October 26, 2014. MSK was four hours ahead of the UTC from March 27, 2011, to 2014 when the country abolished DST. The MSK is used to schedule ships and trains in the country while air travel uses the local time.

Samara Time (SAMT)

Samara time is an hour ahead of Moscow (MSK+1) and 4 hours in front of UTC (UTC+4). Areas like Saratov Oblast, Ulyanovsk, Astrakhan Oblast, Udmurtia, and Samara Oblast observe this time zone.

Yekaterinburg Time (YEKT)

YEKT is 2 hours in front of MSK and 5 hours ahead of the UTC. The country moved to DST and switched between UTC+6 in summer and UTC+5 during winter. YEKT was reset to UTC+5 in 2014. YEKT applies in Volga Federal District, Perm Krai, Orenburg Oblast, Bashkortostan, and Ural Federal District.

Other Time Zones in Russia

Other time zones include Vladivostok time, Irkutsk time, Omst time, Magadan time and Kamchatka time.

Standard Time Zones of the Russian Federation

Zone names, abbreviations and GMT offsets

All Russian cities’ time zones are specified relative to Moscow Time.

Current time in Moscow Time Zone (Russia)

Kaliningrad Time Samara Time Yekaterinburg Time Omsk Time Krasnoyarsk Time Irkutsk Time Yakutsk Time Vladivostok Time Magadan Time Kamchatka Time

Russia Standard Time Zones

There are 11 time zones in Russia, as follows:

The only federal subjects to be in more than one time zone are the Sakha Republic, which is separated into areas which observe the Yakutsk, Vladivostok and Magadan time zones, and Sakhalin Oblast, which is in the Vladivostok (Sakhalin Island) and Magadan time zones (Kuril Islands).

Giving Up Daylight Saving Time

On 26 October 2014, all Russian Time Zones moved their clocks 1 hour back to permanent Standard Time (winter time). From that point onwards Russians remained on standard time and no longer set their clocks forward.

There was as well an introduction of two new time zones for some regions of Russia that preferred to stay permanently on summer time. This change increased the number of time zones in Russia to 11 from 9.

The changes ended former President Dmitry Medvedev’s move to eliminate «winter time» in 2011 and to reduce the number of time zones in Russia.

Time Zones in Russia

Time Zones Currently Being Used in Russia

How Many Time Zones Are There in Russia?

With its 11 local times, Russia is one of the countries with the most time zones worldwide. While France and its dependencies stretch across 12 time zones, Russia holds another world record: 10 of the country’s 11 time zones cover a contiguous landmass—only the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Lithuania and Poland, breaks that pattern.

Russia has not observed Daylight Saving Time (DST) since it was abolished in 2011.

Time Zone History of Russia

Before time zones were introduced in Russia, each location in the country observed its own solar time. The first move to standardize time in Russia was in 1880, when Moscow Mean Time was introduced in and around Moscow. Based on the solar time at Moscow’s longitude, it was 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 17 seconds ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which was then the world’s time standard.

In other parts of the country, cities still observed their own solar time until 1919, when the country was officially divided into several time zones. The local time in each time zone was now determined on the basis of GMT.

Decree Time

In 1930, following a period with several time zone shifts, clocks in all time zones were uniformly turned forward by 1 hour, effectively establishing year-round DST across the Soviet Union. This measure, referred to as Decree Time, was intended to save energy.

During the 1980s, a growing number of regions abolished Decree Time, and in 1991, it was revoked across the entire country. However, it was soon reinstated in many areas. For example, the standard time in Moscow changed from UTC+3 to UTC+2 in 1991—only to be returned to UTC+3 in 1992. Decree Time also remains in force in some of the Soviet Union’s former republics.

Recent Time Zone Changes

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia reshuffled its time zone boundaries a number of times. In 2011, both Decree Time and seasonal clock changes were officially abolished across the nation. Instead, Russia observed permanent DST—until 2014, when the country returned to year-round standard time.