The time difference with Ukraine excites many residents of Russia. Most often, this question puzzles travelers and business people who need to make trips, calls and plan meetings. But people far from business and time management may be interested in this question, because many Russians have relatives and friends in a neighboring country. So what is the time difference with Ukraine now?
Step forward and two back
Since the days of the USSR, every inhabitant of that mighty power, and subsequently of the countries that formed after the collapse of the Union, knew that the clocks in Kiev and Moscow show different times. The difference in the position of the shooters from time immemorial indicated that the capital of Russia is "in a hurry to live" in comparison with its brother for one hour.
Thus, the time difference between Kiev and Moscow is 60 minutes. True, in recent years, many citizens of both countries have become confused, because some time ago this difference increased by two hours, then the authorities again returned the difference that is familiar to people.
If the difference of one hour is the norm, which is determined by time zones, then any other changes in any direction are already games of the “great watchmakers”, which cannot decide on the issue of Russia's transition to the so-called “summer” and “winter” time .
Why is the time different in different countries?
Earth is a huge planet; 251 countries are located on its territory. Most of them have one time zone. But some are so vast that their territory falls under several time zones.
Our planet is divided into 24 sectors, each division has its own value of time relative to the zero meridian, which is a reference point for time calculation. This explains the time difference with Ukraine and other countries of the world, as well as within Russia itself.
Meridians serve as dividing strips. But such a section is very arbitrary, and often the lines can "walk" in different directions. This is because the borders of states and their individual administrative units are fuzzy. To simplify the life of the civilian population, time in some regions is slightly adjusted, this helps to avoid confusion.
In our country there are as many as eleven time zones, in the USA and Canada - six each. Therefore, even in the territory of one country, a time difference often occurs. There are nine such countries, but one of them averaged its time, creating a single time zone for the entire territory (China).
What time zone is Ukraine in?
For the convenience of adjusting the time, there is a single system from which the time in a given country is determined. It is called the Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) scale. According to it, each time zone is assigned its own time, while the zero meridian is a reference point, and the time zones around the Earth have a positive or negative value. Roughly speaking, one division is one hour, the difference between the meridians is approximately 15 degrees.
Kiev time is calculated based on the fact that Ukraine is in the time zone, which on a scale is designated as UTC + 2, in Kiev, the so-called Eastern European time.
By the standards of Russia, Ukraine is a small country. At the same time, it is the largest state in Europe, although the time in it is the same everywhere, part of the country's territory (Transcarpathia) is in the first time zone, and some territories of Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov regions belong to the third time zone, in fact by which Moscow time is determined.
Time Zones in Russia
As mentioned above, the Russian Federation has the largest number of time zones among all countries in the world. Its territory extends from west to east, while Kaliningrad is in the first time zone, and in the city of Anadar, which is located in the Far East, the scale value is defined as UTC + 12.
Such a time difference is an amazing phenomenon. Sometimes it is very difficult for people, because it is necessary to maintain family, friendship and business relations not only at a distance, but also having such enormous differences in the time of day, because when it is still day in Moscow, it is already evening in Krasnoyarsk, and it’s deep night in Magadan.
However, Moscow time is determined by the location of the capital of Russia on the map. It is located in the third time zone (UTC + 3).
Why is there two hours time difference between Ukraine and Russia?
Each person has their own opinion on the practice of translating watches in our country. Opponents and supporters of this process are divided into two warring camps. While scientists, economists and pragmatic people wholeheartedly support the idea of ​​switching to “winter” and “summer” time, the majority of the country's inhabitants are categorically against it.
The main reason for the negative attitude is the huge stress that people experience. Adapting to the new time is difficult for both children and adults. Therefore, legislative initiatives periodically arise that slightly change the orderly course of things. This happened in 2009, when the Russian Federation refused to translate arrows in November. At the same time, other countries did this. Then the time difference with Ukraine was two hours. The consequences of this decision were very mixed, and soon the state decided to resume the switch.
Cat in the woods, who is by firewood
The practice of moving watches in the fall and spring arose more than a century ago. Great Britain carried out such a procedure for the first time, although the very idea of ​​such savings did not belong to the British, but to the Americans, or rather Benjamin Franklin. Surprisingly, the process of translating arrows has taken root in many countries around the world (78 countries translate arrows twice a year). But recently, there has been a tendency to abandon this tradition, so in different countries the time difference may change even more. Ukraine, Russia, the Baltic countries are in an intermediate state and have not reached a final decision. But in Georgia, Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and a number of other countries neighboring Russia, the transition to "winter" time was abandoned for a long time.