diff --git a/pgbotlib/cron.py b/pgbotlib/cron.py
index b4c06b6..01cdb25 100644
--- a/pgbotlib/cron.py
+++ b/pgbotlib/cron.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import asyncio
 import random
+import sys
 
 import aiocron
 import telethon
@@ -16,7 +17,12 @@ class Cron:
                  client: telethon.TelegramClient,
                  responder: pgbotlib.response.Responder) -> None:
         schedule_conf = config.get('schedule', pgbotlib.defaults.SCHEDULE)
-        self.tz = config.get('timezone', pgbotlib.defaults.TZ)
+        local_tz = config.get('timezone', pgbotlib.defaults.TZ)
+        try:
+            self.tz = pytz.timezone(local_tz)
+        except pytz.exceptions.UnknownTimeZoneError as e:
+            sys.stderr.write(e)
+            self.tz = pytz.utc
         with open(schedule_conf, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as data:
             self.sched = yaml.safe_load(data.read())
             self.responder = responder