Putin Supports Move to Turn Off Kremlin's Illumination During Earth Hour

Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi to order the commandant's office of the Kremlin to turn off its illumination, as well as to allow holding an open ceremony of the event on the Red Square.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin supported on Wednesday a proposal by Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi to join an international ecological event, Earth Hour, and turn off the Kremlin's illumination.

Earth Hour 2016 is scheduled to be held on Saturday. Donskoi proposed to order the commandant's office of the Kremlin to turn off its illumination, as well as to allow holding an open ceremony of the event on the Red Square.

"Let's do so," Putin said.

The Earth Hour event was first organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 2007. It calls on people all over the world to turn off non-essential lights for one hour "as a symbol for their commitment to the planet." Last year, as many as 172 countries and over two million people joined the event.