MOSCOW, June 09. /ITAR-TASS/. The United Russia faction at the State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill on re-introduction of the so-called “winter time.” The parliamentary hearing of the bill is due on June 10, the State Duma’s first deputy head of the industry committee, Vladimir Gutenev, told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

“The issue of re-introducing the ‘winter time’ may be settled this autumn already,” he said.

Over past 100 years, Russia’s timekeeping system changed seven times.

Before the revolution of 1917, Russia’s timekeeping was based on the Sun/local time. For the first time the “summer” time (one hour ahead of local time) was introduced by a decree of the Provisional Government of July 1, 1917. However, after the October Revolution, Lenin’s government moved the clock hands one hour backwards. In the 1930s, the clock hands were moved one hour forward once again. Then a break followed in the experiments with moving time, and the “summer time” (DST) was introduced only in 1981. Following that, clock hands were moved in 1991 and 1992. Those changes have caused many claims. Doctors have even revealed a new disease - de-synchronisation (disruption of normal life). In February 2011, President Dmitry Medvedev announced from 2011 the country would be using the “winter time.”

Right now, Russia is the only country in the world, which uses the “summer time” the year round.