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First step in Russian time zone reform comes into force
Published: 28 March, 2010, 12:26
Edited: 28 March, 2010, 22:12
TAGS: Health, Medvedev, Russia, Regional development, Economy
While Russia has changed its time to summer, five of its regions have “moved” closer to the capital in time. Now the country has 9 time zones instead of 11.
This is the first step towards time zone reform, which was initiated by President Dmitry Medvedev in November of 2009.
The next stage will consist of observations and assessments of the changes, according to specialists. After that, a thorough inspection will be undertaken.
“A detailed analysis will be performed: energy, ecology, medicine-biology, defense, communication etc,” said Arkady Tishkov, a deputy science director of Geography Institution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of the time zone changes working group. “After that we’ll elaborate the plan of further optimization.”
Last night, five of Russia’s 38 regions switched to new time according to recommendations by the working group. Samara region and Udmurtia republic have joined Moscow’s time zone. Now, most of the European part of Russia will belong to the same time zone.
Kemerovo region got one hour “closer” to Moscow, now the time difference between the two regions is only 3 hours. By doing this, Kemerovo region also stopped being “time separatist” – previously, its time differed by one hour from the neighboring Kuzbass, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk and Altai regions.
The Kamchatka and Chukotka peninsulas also changed time zones, and now their time difference from Moscow is eight, not nine hours.
“Reducing of amount of time zones is very efficient for managing, for accordance of actions, for approximation of far regions to the center,” Professor Tishkov stated.
“Russia has not become smaller, but more compact,” joked scientists about last night’s time revolution. The next steps to be taken are to resolve the issues of the Yakutia region still lying in three time zones and Sakhalin region, including the Kuril Islands, in two.
Possibly in the future, Russia will consist of only six time zones, and that will be the optimum, Tishkov added.
28.03.2010, 08:36
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I would add that once Moscow leaves to be the capital of the Russian Federation, Russian people will understand that they are living in a new nation and that the Soviet era has past.
With six time zones and the capital of the Russian Federation established in Yekaterimburg (which is at the same time close to the Central District and part of Siberia, not far from Astana and Eastern China) Russia will be more balanced and integrated. Even if the 40 million people Central District is a Hub for Russian development, investment and infraestructure, something necessary to attrack World corporation, once it has consolidated, the time for Yekaterinburg can arrive. Moscow will continue, the same as New York in the U.S. (which is not even capital of the state of N.Y.) as the ECONOMIC Hub of Russia, but Yekatrinburg will have a POLITICAL meaning being closer to the Russian population. The ADMINISTRATIVE capital should be Yekaterinburg, being close enough to the Central District and, at the same time, part of Siberia and close to Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Kamerovo...
An extra hour of pay?