Russia Current Time & Time Zone & Time Zone Map

How many time zones does Russia have?

Russia has 11 time zones. From west to east, they are:

A few coverage notes: Samara Time includes Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov, Udmurtia, and Ulyanovsk. Yakutsk Time covers central/western Sakha. Magadan Time includes Magadan Oblast and most of Sakhalin. Kamchatka Time includes Kamchatka Krai and Chukotka.

Why does Russia have so many time zones?

Russia is the world’s largest country by area and stretches roughly from Kaliningrad in the west to Kamchatka and Chukotka in the east—about 11 hours of longitude. One national clock would put noon in the wrong part of the day for much of the country: when it is midday in Moscow, the Far East would still be in deep night or early morning by the sun.

Multiple time zones keep local clocks closer to sunrise and sunset, which makes work, school, transport, and daily life more practical. Other large countries do the same for the same reason—including the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Who sets Russia’s time zones?

Russia’s time zones are set by federal law, not by astronomy agencies or local clocks. The main statute is Federal Law No. 107-FZ, “On the Calculation of Time” (June 3, 2011), which has been amended when the country changed DST rules or moved regions between zones.

Under the current rules, which zones exist and which regions sit in each zone are written into that federal law. If a region wants to switch zones, the usual path is a joint proposal from its local legislature and executive, then a change to the federal law.

Does Russia use Daylight Saving Time?

No. Russia does not change clocks for DST today. The current fixed offsets on this page stay the same year-round.

For many years before 2011, Russia did observe DST in the usual way: clocks sprang forward in spring and fell back in autumn. On March 27, 2011, the country stopped falling back and stayed on permanent “summer” (daylight) offsets all year.

That permanent-summer setup did not last. On October 26, 2014, Russia abolished DST again and moved to permanent standard time across today’s 11-zone layout (UTC+02:00 through UTC+12:00). Since then, Russian civil time has not sprung forward or fallen back with the seasons.

How can I compare Russia with other countries?

Use Russia ↔ Regional Compare to line up another region’s zones next to all eleven Russian zones. It also includes a live converter against Moscow Time. You can choose United States, Canada, Oceania, Asia, or Europe.

Where This Page’s Time Data Comes From

The clocks and zone labels on this page follow the IANA Time Zone Database. Russia’s civil offsets are fixed year-round under federal law, so the live times here do not shift for Daylight Saving Time. For a broader overview of Russian time zones, see Time in Russia (opens in new tab).