By Duncan Mackay

Red Square clockJanuary 23 - Winter time in Russia could be reintroduced in time for next year's Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) insisted it had not initiated the proposal.


It had been claimed by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) that the IOC had requested the change to make it more convenient for European broadcasters. 

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev scrapped the switch to winter time in 2011. 

The time difference between Russia and most European countries now amounts to three hours, reaching four hours with Britain.

The IOC said it had been approached to give its opinion on reintroducing winter time but would accept whatever decision Russia decided to take.

"We said that we would look upon it favourably, so long as the Games stakeholders were informed far enough in advance," an IOC spokesman said.

"The decision to make any change to standard time in Russia is clearly one for the Government of the Russian Federation."

The decision to abolish winter time was taken by Medvedev following research showing that the yearly time adjustment caused a number of health problems.

Russia is currently one of the few countries in Northern Europe that does not turn back its clock for winter.

But after having to wake up to a dark morning for the last two winters, many Russians have been left longing for the daylight, which made Medvedev's successor, Vladimir Putin, revisit the reform.

"Something might not have been thought through," he said last year, when talking about the possible abolishment of legislation.

A decision on whether to reintroduce winter time for this autumn is expected shortly. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]