Russia eliminates two of its 11 time zones

MOSCOW - Russia's president thought the country had too much time on its hands, so yesterday he eliminated two of its 11 time zones.

The changes mean that Chukotka - Russia's eastern extreme, just across the Bering Strait from Alaska - is now nine hours ahead of Russia's westernmost area, the Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. Formerly, there was 10 hours' difference.

As well as eliminating the time zone that previously covered the Chukotka and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky regions in the Pacific Far East, President Dmitry Medvedev ordered that Samara and Udmurtia, two regions in central Russia, should be on the same time as Moscow.

The changes went into effect before dawn yesterday when most of Russia switched to daylight saving time. People in the eliminated time zones didn't move their clocks an hour ahead.

Medvedev said the change would help some far-flung regions have more efficient communications with the central authorities, ease travel and even improve the country's international position.

But some people believe Medvedev should have done something else with his time. An online petition opposing Samara's change had nearly 13,000 signatures. - AP