How many time zones does Russia have?

Russia has 11 time zones. This page shows a live clock for each one. From west to east, they are:

Zone UTC IANA Example city
Kaliningrad Time (KALT)   UTC+02:00   Europe/Kaliningrad   Kaliningrad  
Moscow Time (MSK)   UTC+03:00   Europe/Moscow   Moscow  
Samara Time (SAMT)   UTC+04:00   Europe/Samara   Samara  
Yekaterinburg Time (YEKT)   UTC+05:00   Asia/Yekaterinburg   Yekaterinburg  
Omsk Time (OMST)   UTC+06:00   Asia/Omsk   Omsk  
Krasnoyarsk Time (KRAT)   UTC+07:00   Asia/Krasnoyarsk   Krasnoyarsk  
Irkutsk Time (IRKT)   UTC+08:00   Asia/Irkutsk   Irkutsk  
Yakutsk Time (YAKT)   UTC+09:00   Asia/Yakutsk   Yakutsk  
Vladivostok Time (VLAT)   UTC+10:00   Asia/Vladivostok   Vladivostok  
Magadan Time (MAGT)   UTC+11:00   Asia/Magadan   Magadan  
Kamchatka Time (PETT)   UTC+12:00   Asia/Kamchatka   Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky  

A few coverage notes: Samara Time includes Astrakhan, Samara, Saratov, Udmurtia, and Ulyanovsk. Yakutsk Time covers central and western Sakha; Chita in Zabaykalsky Krai shares the same UTC+9 offset (IANA Asia/Chita). Magadan Time covers Magadan Oblast; most of Sakhalin shares the same UTC+11 offset (IANA Asia/Sakhalin). Kamchatka Time includes Kamchatka Krai and Chukotka.

The map near the top of this page is a static color-coded image of Russia’s time zones. It is not an interactive or region-by-region boundary tool.

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.

Why does Russia have so many time zones?

Russia is the world’s largest country by area and stretches from Kaliningrad in the west to Kamchatka and Chukotka in the east—eleven civil zones and about ten hours of wall-clock difference (UTC+02:00 to UTC+12:00). 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.

How can I compare Russia with other countries?

Use Russia ↔ Regional Compare above to line up zones from the United States, Canada, Oceania, Asia, or Europe next to all eleven Russian zones. Offset tables on that board convert against Moscow Time.

For a written visitor overview, see Russia’s time zones for visitors. To place fixed Moscow time (UTC+3) against U.S. coasts, use UTC to EST or UTC to PST. The U.S. time zones page shows the mainland map, and the World Meeting Planner helps when you need several cities at once.

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.

Where does this page get its time data?

The clocks and zone labels on this page follow the IANA Time Zone Database (from Europe/Kaliningrad and Europe/Moscow through Asia/Kamchatka). 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, see Time in Russia (opens in new tab).