Proposed Time Change in Saratov, Russia
By Anne Buckle. Published 11-Nov-2016. Changed 14-Nov-2016
Russia is planning to change the time zone of Saratov Oblast, setting clocks forward 1 hour on December 4, 2016.
Update:
The date for the time zone change been pushed to December 4, 2016. The dates in the article are updated to reflect the new date.
Center of Saratov in Russia.
©bigstockphoto.com/John D Williams
If the federal law proposal is approved, clocks in Saratov Oblast will be turned forward 1 hour from 02:00 (2 am) to 03:00 (3 am) local time on December 4, 2016.
Very Likely Change
The time zone proposal for Saratov comes in addition to 9 other time zone changes in Russia this year, and it is very likely that also this law will be signed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The possible change will affect the Oblast's administrative center in Saratov.
Time Zone Changes in 2016
The latest change was in July, in Novosibirsk Oblast. Tomsk Oblast changed in May, and Magadan Oblast in April. In addition, several other time zones in Russia were changed in March.
Forward 1 Hour
If the law is passed, 1 hour will be added to the local time in Saratov changing it from Moscow Standard Time (MSK) with a UTC offset of plus 3 hours (UTC+3), to a UTC offset of plus 4 (UTC+4). The extra hour will give Saratov the same local time as Samara, Ulyanovsk, and Astrakhan.
Historic Changes
Russia has a history of time zone changes. In 2014, the country added 2 time zones and stopped using permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST).