sMirax Group founder Sergei Polonsky is claiming that the land he owns on the outskirts of Moscow is not part of the Khimki forest.
"I, Sergei Yuryevich Polonsky, in response to the material in the Kommersant newspaper on April 13 … have the honor of reporting that the land mentioned has no territorial relation to the Khimki forest and is agricultural land," the businessman wrote on his LiveJournal blog late last week.
On his Facebook page, Polonsky said he has never destroyed any forestland and, furthermore, plants trees and creates habitats for animals.
Kommersant reported last week that Polonsky and Alexander Klyachin, founder of the Azimut Hotel chain, are among the largest landowners along the Moscow-St. Petersburg roadway being built through the Khimki forest. According to that paper, the businessmen own a combined total of 700 hectares of land near Sheremetyevo Airport, and 140 hectares of that land has been put up for sale.
