MOSCOW, July 9 (RIA Novosti) — The upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, the Federation Council, approved a bill Wednesday to switch to year-round daylight saving time.
Under the bill, the majority of Russian regions are to set their clocks back one hour on October 26, while no seasonal time change is envisaged.
The bill also increases the number of time-zones in Russia from 9 to 11. Russia’s new federal subjects Crimea and Sevastopol are to follow Moscow time.
The lower chamber of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, passed the bill last week.
In June, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said the motion to switch to year-round daylight saving time would be backed.
In 2011, then-president Dmitry Medvedev scrapped the time-switch rule in a move that was supported by 73 percent of the population.
Medvedev said his decision was based on a number of studies showing that the daylight saving time switch put an unnecessary strain on public health.
