Far East gets new time zone - as Siberia switches to permanent winter time

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a new law which means the country will turn the clocks back on 26 October, and not turn the forward next spring. 

The move changes the current system - enacted by premier Dmitry Medvedev when he was president - of 'permanent summer time'.

But it makes other key alternations to the clocks, too. 

Kemerovo region in Siberia will move to four hours ahead of Moscow, rather than the current three. It will no longer be on the same time as Novosibirsk.

The number of time zones from the Baltic to the Pacific in Russia rises to 11.

In future,  Kamchatka Territory and the Chukotka Autonomous Area - to the east of Siberia - will be in a new time zone nine hours ahead of Moscow, instead of eight as present. The other new time zone, one hour ahead of Moscow, is for the Udmurtian Republic and Samara Region.