Kamchatka Daylight Time (PETST)

UTC offset: +13:00 (historical, summer only)
Standard offset: +12:00 (PETT, current year-round)
IANA identifier: Asia/Kamchatka
Abbreviation: PETST (no longer active)
DST status: Discontinued

Kamchatka Daylight Time advanced Russia's far eastern territories one hour from PETT (UTC+12:00) to UTC+13:00 during summer. At +13:00, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Chukotka shared their offset with Tonga, Samoa, and New Zealand Daylight Time, making them among the earliest places on Earth to begin each calendar day.

Russia's time zone history in this region is convoluted:

• Until 2010: seasonal DST (PETST +13:00 in summer, PETT +12:00 in winter)
• 2010-2011: the zone was shifted down to +11:00 standard (Magadan Time) as part of Medvedev's time zone reduction
• 2011-2014: permanent "summer time" at +12:00
• 2014 onward: permanent +12:00 (standard time designation)

The net result: Kamchatka has been at +12:00 continuously since 2011, but the legal basis changed from "permanent summer time" to "standard time" in 2014.

What PETST Meant

At +13:00, Kamchatka experienced extremely late sunsets in summer (past midnight in June at higher latitudes in Chukotka) and sunrise around 4:00-5:00 a.m. The offset also placed Russia's far east 10 hours ahead of Moscow, creating severe coordination challenges for federal administration.

The Medvedev Time Zone Reform

In 2010, President Medvedev reduced Russia's time zones from 11 to 9, merging Kamchatka into the Magadan zone (+11:00). This was unpopular in Kamchatka because it made sunrise occur even earlier (3:00 a.m. in midsummer) while sunset came too soon. The 2011 shift to permanent +12:00 partially addressed this.

Current Situation

Kamchatka and Chukotka are permanently at PETT (UTC+12:00). No DST. Nine hours ahead of Moscow. This is straightforward and has been stable since 2014.

Legacy in Software

The Asia/Kamchatka zone in the IANA database contains transitions for all historical changes (2010 zone reduction, 2011 permanent summer time, 2014 standard time restoration). Applications processing historical dates must account for the +13:00 offset during applicable DST periods.

Technical Identifiers

• Asia/Kamchatka (IANA canonical)
• PETST (historical summer abbreviation)
• PETT (current permanent abbreviation)
• Windows: "Russia Time Zone 11"
• Historical maximum offset: +13:00

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