MOSCOW, October 9 (Itar-Tass) -Duma deputies are hoping the government to say by the end of next week whether winter time might be resumed in Russia before the Sochi Olympics, MP Vladimir Gutenev told a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday.
Earlier, the government said that switching over to winter time might prevent the implementation of contracts on broadcasts of the Olympic events and advertisement contracts. "I have lodged an inquiry with the Russian government, and I hope the government to answer next week," the MP said.
The MP said that the proposed bill on switching over to winter time should come into force on October 27 as had been practiced in Russia before Dmitry Medvedev, who was the Russian president then, abolished the winter time altogether in 2011.
Gutenev does not rule out that the bill might come into force on November 27on condition that in 2014 the earlier practice of winter and summer time should be resumed. Neither he ruled out a compromise decision that a return to winter time was possible only after the Olympic Games. "We will accept this variant as well because we do not want to cause any harm to the organization of such an important sports forum," the MP said.
Vladimir Gutenyev, who was elected to the State Duma from the All Russia People's Front (ONF), submitted a bill on the return to winter time to the State Duma for approval on September 20.