As soon as the State Duma is in session again in September a bill aimed at dropping the law on permanent summer-time will be discussed.
Russia introduced permanent summer-time last year, following a law signed by then-President Dmitri Medvedev. When the rest of Europe changed the clocks in October, Russia continued unchanged, a move that led to a three hour time difference for those crossing the land border to Norway. And a two hour time difference between Finland and Russia.
The arguments to drop the permanent summer-time are ironically rather similar to those that now come up as counterarguments: health and stress of the people.
“Adjusting the time back and forwards brings “stress and illness,” then-President Medvedev said last year.
Head of the State Duma’s health committee says to RIA-Novosti that his reason now for suggesting re-introducing shifting times between summer and winter follows “adversely affects the health of Russian citizens.”
