The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time, which is also called "Summer Time" in many countries, is to make better use of daylight hours.
Russia changes to daylight saving time on the same date as Europe, moving clocks forward one hour on the last weekend in March and back one hour on the last weekend in October. The first recorded time change in Russia was in 1917.
Daylight Saving Time is practiced in every European country except Iceland, as well as in many other countries around the world, to make better use of daylight hours for the purpose of saving energy.
However, critics of the time change say that it is harmful to health.
Some Russian experts argue that the time switch in winter and summer negatively influences the health of Russians, especially Siberian people, who live in tough weather conditions. They also say that time change may potentially lead to chronic diseases, reduced working efficiency and harm the immune system, increasing mortality rate and risks for hypertensive patients.
