Nov 14, 2009, 14:32 GMT
Moscow - Russian politicians are saying it's time for a change ... in the country's system of time zones, that is.
By virtue of its massive land mass, Russia sprawls across 11 time zones. But to put the whole country in synch with Moscow, the majority United Russia party wants to do away with time zones and axe the practice of switching from winter to summer time each year, reported radio broadcaster Echo Moskwy on Saturday.
The freshly introduced legislation comes in response to the recent address to the nation by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in which he said the practices needed to be reconsidered. Such a change would undo policy set into place 80 years ago by former Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
The practice of having time zones and summer time should be done away with, argues the party, because they no longer serve any business need. Medvedev, in his speech Thursday, said he wanted to review the policies in the interest of improved management of the giant country.
However, Medvedev never suggested whittling Russia down to one time zone. Indeed, experts have suggested paring down from 11 to 4.
The annual switch to summer time routinely causes debate to break out in Russia, with arguments about its impact on health and its necessity in light of current business and industry practices.
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