Medvedev sticks to his viewpoint on daylight saving time

Analog Clock Artist's Rendition

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 5, 2013) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says his viewpoint on the daylight saving time remains unchanged.

“You know my opinion about daylight saving time; there has been no change,” he told the Open Government on Wednesday.

“I think everyone must bear one’s responsibility: experts are responsible for validating their standpoint. And the government is responsible for making and fulfilling its decisions,” the premier stressed.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev signed into law a bill cancelling the practice of switching to daylight saving time in summer in June 2011, citing people’s complaints about biennial time change. However, the decision to leave summertime on a permanent basis has drawn even more criticism, as some people started complaining about chronic fatigue and lack of sleep.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on December 20, 2012, President Vladimir Putin said he sees the problem in keeping summertime all the year round and promised that the government would monitor the situation and would make a decision on the matter in the near future.

Medvedev said on February 7, 2013, that the government deemed inexpedient the “winter time” return for now.

The Russian Supreme Court upheld on March 26 the Russian shift to daylight saving time 24/7/365 as lawful, thus rejecting the abolition request from public organizations.

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