On the night of October 26, Russia will switch to winter time. As ITAR-TASS was told by Deputy Head of the Metrology Department of the State Standard of the Russian Federation Albert Demichev, at 3 a.m. local time on October 26, clock hands throughout the country will be moved back an hour.

He recalled that the clocks were first changed in Great Britain in 1908, then many countries around the world followed the example of the British. “Russia first switched to summer time in 1917, and since 1981 the transition began to be carried out regularly,” Demichev said. According to him, this decision was made to make better use of daylight hours and save energy.

Until 1996, Russia returned to winter time at the end of September, and not on the last Sunday of October, as throughout Europe. The period of summer time in the Russian Federation was extended on the recommendation of the UN Economic Commission for Europe to comply with a common time regime with other countries.

According to energy experts, by changing clocks to daylight saving time and back in Russia, about 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity are saved annually.

Commenting on statements about the negative impact of changing clocks on the human body, Demichev noted: “Doctors have not identified serious evidence of a detrimental effect on people’s health... It is important that the general daily routine is not disrupted.”

In turn, the public relations department of Russian Railways OJSC promised Interfax that the transition to winter time would not cause inconvenience to passengers.

According to representatives of the company, during the “transitional” period on the railways “the unhindered passage of passenger and freight trains through interroad and interstate junction points will be ensured.” Suburban and freight trains that were en route at the time of the clock change will subsequently be run on a special schedule to their terminal or control stations. “In general, the train schedule will be strictly observed, and the schedule will not change both at the points of departure and at the points of arrival of trains,” the company said.

On the night of October 26, Russia switches to winter time