Time Zones in Russia: Eleven Zones and No Daylight Saving Time

Last updated October 2, 2026

Russia is the largest country in the world and it has more time zones than any other: eleven. They run from UTC+2 in the west to UTC+12 in the far east, a spread of ten hours. The good news for planning is that Russia does not change its clocks, so each zone keeps the same offset all year.

The eleven zones

Kaliningrad is an exclave on the Baltic Sea, separated from the rest of the country, and it is the only zone west of Moscow. Chukotka, at the eastern end, shares the UTC+12 time of Kamchatka. Novosibirsk is in its own region but has the same offset as Krasnoyarsk, which is why it appears in the same row.

No daylight saving time

Russia stopped changing its clocks in 2011, when it stayed on summer time all year. That proved unpopular in winter, and in October 2014 the country moved back to permanent "standard" offsets. Since then Moscow has been on UTC+3 all year, and every other zone has kept its own fixed offset as well.

This has a practical effect on the gap with countries that do change their clocks. Moscow is three hours ahead of London in winter and two hours ahead in summer, because London moves and Moscow does not. Against New York the gap is eight hours in winter and seven in summer.

Zones can still change

Russian time zones have been merged, split and shifted several times in the last fifteen years. For example, Novosibirsk moved from UTC+6 to UTC+7 in 2016. For this reason, a time zone database that is out of date can show the wrong time for a Russian city. Keep your browser or device up to date, and double-check important appointments.

Moscow time on the railway

For many years Russian long-distance trains published their timetables in Moscow time, wherever the train was. On the Trans-Siberian route a departure listed as 12:00 meant 12:00 in Moscow, even if the station clock showed a time several hours later. Since 2018 timetables follow local time, but older guidebooks and travel blogs may still describe the Moscow-time system, so check which one a source means.

How big is the difference across the country?

• Moscow to Yekaterinburg: 2 hours.
• Moscow to Novosibirsk: 4 hours.
• Moscow to Vladivostok: 7 hours.
• Moscow to Kamchatka: 9 hours.

When it is 9 a.m. in Moscow, it is already 4 p.m. in Vladivostok and 6 p.m. in Kamchatka, so the working day in the east is nearly over when it begins in the west.

Scheduling tips

• Name the city, not "Russian time". The country has eleven answers.
• For calls with several Russian cities, pick the Moscow time as the reference and write the other cities' local times beside it.
• Between Western Europe and the Russian Far East, the working days barely overlap. Plan for early-morning or evening calls on one side.
• Check the date of your meeting. The gap to Europe and North America changes twice a year because of their clocks, not Russia's.

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