Russians undecided which time is better to live in - poll
MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - There is no agreement as to which time Russia should live in, either daylight savings time or winter time. Twenty-six percent of Russians say the country should reset its clocks twice a year, and 27% are happy with the perpetual daylight savings time.
The Superjob.ru portal polled 1,600 economically active citizens, who are older than 18, in 229 towns and cities in all federal districts on September 19-23.
The former practice of resetting the clocks twice a year is mostly supported by women (28% vs. 23% of men) and the generation younger than 24 (29%). Only 21% of people older than 45 favor that option.
Such respondents said the constant daylight savings time had bad implications for their health and working capacity. "Most people only see daylight from the windows of their offices," the respondents complained.
The biggest wish of their opponents is "to not reset the clocks at all." True, their number declined from 29% in September 2012 to 27% this September.
Twelve percent said they would love it if clocks were set to constant winter time. The percentage was higher, 17%, a year ago.
"I think that the constant winter time would be closer to the astronomical time conditions. It is time that we stopped resetting our clocks, we should always live in winter time. It is stressful to reset our clocks twice a year. Winter time forever!" the respondents said. Most of them are men (14% vs. 11% of women) and respondents older than 45 (27% vs. 5% in the age group younger than 24).
Twenty-four percent of the respondents said they did not care which time they would live in. They said the hours of operation of organizations or shops mattered and they could handle their bio-rhythms. Only 16% chose the "I do not care" answer in the age group older than 45. The percentage stood at 28% in the age group younger than 24.
Eleven percent could not give a definite answer but demanded stability. "It does not matter actually if we live in daylight savings or winter time. Most importantly, clocks should not be reset," they said.
Russia enacted the zonal standard time plus one hour (the so-called decree time) in 1930.
The shift to winter time was abolished in June 2011 with a law signed by then President Dmitry Medvedev who thus responded to the discontent of some citizens with the shift from daylight savings to winter time and back. Yet the decision was criticized by many, who alleged a chronic shortage of sleep and fatigue.