Moscow Time
Encyclopedia
Moscow Time is the time zone
for the city of Moscow
, Russia
and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg
. It is the second westernmost of the nine time zones of Russia
. Moscow Time has been UTC+4
year-round since 27 March 2011.
Moscow Time is used to schedule train
s, ship
s, etc. throughout the Russian Federation
, while airplane travel is scheduled using local time. Times in Russia are often announced throughout the country on radio station
s as Moscow Time, and this time is also registered in telegrams, etc. Description of time zones in Russia are often based on Moscow Time rather than UTC. For example, Yakutsk (UTC+10) is said to be MSK+6 within Russia.
was introduced by adding one hour to the time in each time zone
of the USSR, so that Moscow Time became three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time
.
Until 2011, during the winter, between the last Sunday of October and the last Sunday of March, Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК) was 3 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+3
; during the summer, Moscow Time shifted forward an additional hour ahead of Moscow Standard Time to become Moscow Summer Time (MSD), making it UTC+4
.
In 2011, the Russian government proclaimed that daylight saving time
would in future be observed all year round, thus effectively displacing standard time
—an action which the government claimed emerged from health concerns attributed to the annual shift back-and-forth between standard time and daylight saving time. On 27 March 2011, Muscovites set their clocks forward for a final time, effectively observing MSD, or UTC+4, permanently.
(the portion of Russia west of the Ural Mountains
), which contains the city of Moscow
, uses Moscow Time. In Kaliningrad Oblast
, UTC+3
is used.
was used in the summer, advancing it to UTC+4.
UTC+3 was also formerly used in European parts of what was then the USSR:
Moscow Summer Time (UTC+4), was first applied in 1981 and was used:
In 1922–30 and 1991–92, Moscow observed EET
(UTC+2). Daylight saving time (UTC+3) was observed in the summer of 1991, and the city and region reverted back to UTC+3 by the summer of 1992.
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
for the city of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. It is the second westernmost of the nine time zones of Russia
Time in Russia
There are nine time zones in Russia, which currently observe times ranging from UTC+03:00 to UTC+12:00. UTC+05:00 is not used.-List of zones:Since March 2011, the time zones are as follows:-Daylight saving time:...
. Moscow Time has been UTC+4
UTC+4
UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:Gulf Standard Time uses UTC+04.-As standard time :...
year-round since 27 March 2011.
Moscow Time is used to schedule train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s, ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, etc. throughout the Russian Federation
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, while airplane travel is scheduled using local time. Times in Russia are often announced throughout the country on radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s as Moscow Time, and this time is also registered in telegrams, etc. Description of time zones in Russia are often based on Moscow Time rather than UTC. For example, Yakutsk (UTC+10) is said to be MSK+6 within Russia.
History
In accordance with the 16 June 1930 Decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the Decree TimeDecree time
Decree time refers to the changes introduced to the USSR time system by a Sovnarkom decree of 16 June 1930. By this decree, all clocks in the Soviet Union were permanently shifted one hour ahead of standard time for each timezone....
was introduced by adding one hour to the time in each time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
of the USSR, so that Moscow Time became three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
.
Until 2011, during the winter, between the last Sunday of October and the last Sunday of March, Moscow Standard Time (MSK, МСК) was 3 hours ahead of UTC, or UTC+3
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-East Africa Time:*Comoros*Djibouti*Eritrea*Ethiopia*Kenya*Madagascar...
; during the summer, Moscow Time shifted forward an additional hour ahead of Moscow Standard Time to become Moscow Summer Time (MSD), making it UTC+4
UTC+4
UTC+04:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +04. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:Gulf Standard Time uses UTC+04.-As standard time :...
.
In 2011, the Russian government proclaimed that daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
would in future be observed all year round, thus effectively displacing standard time
Standard time
Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time. Historically, this helped in the process of weather forecasting and train travel. The concept...
—an action which the government claimed emerged from health concerns attributed to the annual shift back-and-forth between standard time and daylight saving time. On 27 March 2011, Muscovites set their clocks forward for a final time, effectively observing MSD, or UTC+4, permanently.
Usage
The section of European RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(the portion of Russia west of the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
), which contains the city of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, uses Moscow Time. In Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
, UTC+3
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-East Africa Time:*Comoros*Djibouti*Eritrea*Ethiopia*Kenya*Madagascar...
is used.
Past usage
Prior to 27 March 2011, Moscow Time was UTC+3. Daylight saving timeDaylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
was used in the summer, advancing it to UTC+4.
UTC+3 was also formerly used in European parts of what was then the USSR:
- BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, in 1930–1991 - EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, in 1940–1989 - LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, in 1940–1989 - LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, in 1940–1989 - MoldovaMoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, in 1940–1991 - UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, in 1930–1990 - Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
(Russia), in 1946–1991 - Samara OblastSamara OblastSamara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...
(Russia), in 1989–1991, and again from 2010–2011.
Moscow Summer Time (UTC+4), was first applied in 1981 and was used:
- until 1988 in EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark... - until 1989 in BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, MoldovaMoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
and UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia... - until 1990 in Kaliningrad OblastKaliningrad OblastKaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
. - between 1989 and 1990 and in 2010 in Samara OblastSamara OblastSamara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...
.
In 1922–30 and 1991–92, Moscow observed EET
Eastern European Time
Eastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in some European countries that also use Eastern European Summer Time as a summer daylight saving time.- Usage :...
(UTC+2). Daylight saving time (UTC+3) was observed in the summer of 1991, and the city and region reverted back to UTC+3 by the summer of 1992.