Russia Takes Part in Earth Hour 2014
Both Russia’s official capital and its European capital were plunged into darkness for Earth Hour 2014 on Saturday night, at 8.30pm. In Moscow, for the first time in the history of Earth Hour, the Kremlin and the whole Red Square complex, consisting of St Basil’s Cathedral and the famous GUM shopping mall, had their lights switched off, while in St Petersburg, over 20 main sights and bridges were kept in the dark.
Earth Hour is an annual worldwide movement organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), encouraging individuals, households, communities and businesses to turn off their lights for one hour as a symbol of their commitment to the planet. More than 7000 cities and towns participate, to raise awareness about climate change and our often wasteful use of electricity.
In St Petersburg, the lights were switched off in the Winter Palace, the Peter and Paul Fortress and on various bridges including the Troitsky and Dvortsovy.
This year saw an increase in the number of businesses taking part, including Dve Palochki, the Japanese restaurant chain, who turned off their lights, allowing customers to dine by candlelight, and even purchase more time in order to continue the romantic atmosphere. All proceeds from the purchases have been donated to the Altai snow leopard conservation fund, which is run by the WWF.
