Sergei Polonsky
Encyclopedia
Sergei Yurievitch Polonsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("76515")' href="/topics/Saint_Petersburg">Saint Petersburg
) is a Russian
businessman.
Owner and head of one of the largest real estate companies Mirax Group (2004–2011). He was one of the richest men in Russia before Late-2000s financial crisis
. Now he is shareholder and investor of a number of commercial structures collected by the LLC Nazvanie.net
(from March, 2011).
District of Leningrad. In 1989 he joined the Airborne Troops. He is been serving in 21-th separate air assault brigade (1990–1992), which was stationed, in times of armed conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia, in a combat zone - in Tskhinval.
In 1994, together with Arthur Kirilenko, Polonsky established the Stroymontazh LLC company, which specialized in construction and fit out works. In 2000 he set up the Moscow office of Stroymontazh, which was renamed as Mirax Group in 2004. In 2000 Polonsky graduated from the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He was qualified as an economist and manager with a specialization in Economics and Management of Building Enterprises. In 2002 he defended his Ph.D. thesis on Formation of Functional Procurement Strategies in Construction.
During 11 years in Moscow, the company headed by Sergei Polonsky built 2.5 million square meters of elite class housing and offices, including the following projects: Korona Residential Property – a landmark project, the first one in Moscow reflecting state-of-the-art achievements in architecture, planning, construction technologies and landscaping. The ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of the Korona Project was quite an event in the construction trade of Moscow, which demonstrated a new, unusual, vigorous and assertive style of the young businessmen from St. Petersburg.
Golden Keys 2 Residential Property is the 2nd project implemented by Polonsky’s team. Polonsky suggested a comfortable “town in the city” living concept where high-rise residential buildings are mixed with a cottage village named "Y".
Then the company launched new business centers Pollars and Europe Building. In 2002-2007 the company started construction of residential properties Taganka House, Kutuzovskaya Riviera, Mirax Park and the Federation Tower
- mixed-use complex in the Moscow International Business Center
- Moscow City.
In August 2008, in the midst of the global economic crisis, S. Polonsky published an open letter in his blog, where he admitted that for the last year Mirax Group could not get any credit to continue construction, and during the last few months they did not sell a single square meter of real estate, and due to lack of funds real estate commissioning deadlines would be reviewed and extended.
In February 2011, Sberbank
of Russia (Savings Bank of the Russian Federation) decided to grant Mirax Group a $373 million credit for 6 years. On 3 March 2011, at a media conference Sergey Polonskiy declared that the Board of Mirax Group decided to liquidate Mirax brand. He also promised to fulfill all the obligations of the Group on the projects completion and repaying the debts. In May 2011 works at the unfinished projects were resumed.
In different periods, Polonsky was a member of various voluntary associations: 2001-2005 – member of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Mayor and Government of Moscow, 2001-2010 – the “Business Russia” organization of entrepreneurs. In 2003 Polonsky was elected as Vice President of the Russian Academy of Business and Enterprising, in 2004 – Vice President of the public association of professional managers International Club of the Best Managers of the New Era. In 2005 Polonsky was one of those who established the Russian Builders’ Association, and till now remains its First Vice President.
account with not less than 20 friend links. The same applies to the company staff. According to Polonsky, having an account in Facebook, regardless of the position in the company, encourages intellectual development, helps social adaptation in the virtual environment, gives confidence when searching information in the Internet, boosts mental performance and expands cognitive horizons.
, Tom Peters
, and Kjell A. Nordström
(twice). According to Philip Kotler
, creative head of the company is a big advantage for any brand, and a good basis to build on the Mirax marketing communication. He also suggested launching Sergei Polonsky on a flight in the Moscow sky with a jet pack, considering this a very creative idea.
in the NTV (Russia) studio. According to the host of the show Anton Krasovsky, Polonsky’s conduct was appropriate and not provoking any aggression, “Throughout the show Polonsky behaved in the most appropriate manner, I had a feeling that he came for a meaningful talk.”
Shortly after the filming of the show on Friday, Polonsky wrote about the incident in his Twitter
microblog. He also posted a photo of his injured arm. It should be noted that Lebedev punched Polonsky following his words, “This very man three years ago said that the Federation Tower…”
Polonsky was trying to convey that three years ago Levedev alleged a crack in the Federation Tower foundation, which raised potential tenant's concern. On the next day Polonsky invited journalists to the Federation Tower promising to pay a million of rubles if they find the crack. The journalists were allowed to all underground floors, including the minus fifth floor. But the long search brought no result. This is the whole story why Lebedev attacked Polonsky.
On 3 October 2011 a criminal case was instituted against Alexander Lebedev, a renowned businessman and a member of the Slobodskaya District Duma
of the Kirov Region, under Article 213, Part 1, Clause B of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Hooliganism). The decision was made by the Investigative Committee of Russia
based on pre-investigation check results.
The residential property Kutuzovskaya Mile is being constructed under a contract between FTsSR as the Principal Investor in the Project and the Moscow Government dated 2002. Avanta, LLC affiliated with the Mirax Group corporation was introduced into the Project as an Investor in 2005. Polonsky claims that this company has invested about 2.3 billion rubles into the Project (a lawsuit is for 1.972 billion rubles). However, later the Moscow Government terminated the contract with this Party in January 2010 due to Mirax Group’s liquidation, whereas the construction as it was came to a halt as early as March 2009 (as Polonsky contends because of disputes between FTsSR and Mirax Group). Not long before the attempt to impose control over the Project site, Avanta, LLC had agreed with MSM-5 to complete the Project construction. At the same time, FTsSR announced similar intentions and an investment amount of $180 mln. Polonsky is also taking effort to recover the funds invested into the Project through a legal action against FTsSR for the works under the contract. FTsSR representatives do not contest that they stopped funding the construction in August 2008 and all construction that followed took place without them. Despite the ongoing court proceedings, the Moscow Government entered into a contract with FTsSR, CJSC in September 2011.
Polonky has described FTsSR's actions as a raid in the media. "At this very moment the Project site, located at the construction site of the residential quarter Kutuzovskaya Mile, is being forcibly taken over", so goes an official statement of the company Nazvanie.net.
To protest against the actions of the Moscow authorities, Polonsky declared a hunger strike and continued to provide his round-the-clock presence at the construction site. As stated by the media office at the Moscow Chief Directorate of the Ministry for the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, "The police stay uninvolved in the conflict. Those officers of the law enforcement agencies who are present at the scene are maintaining the public order".
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
) is a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
businessman.
Owner and head of one of the largest real estate companies Mirax Group (2004–2011). He was one of the richest men in Russia before Late-2000s financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
. Now he is shareholder and investor of a number of commercial structures collected by the LLC Nazvanie.net
Nazvanie.net
Nazvanie.NET Russian investment and development company with head-office in Moscow. Main activities: mixed-use development, managing and selling of real estate in Moscow and abroad...
(from March, 2011).
Biography
S. Polonsky finished secondary school № 99 of the VyborgVyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
District of Leningrad. In 1989 he joined the Airborne Troops. He is been serving in 21-th separate air assault brigade (1990–1992), which was stationed, in times of armed conflict between South Ossetia and Georgia, in a combat zone - in Tskhinval.
In 1994, together with Arthur Kirilenko, Polonsky established the Stroymontazh LLC company, which specialized in construction and fit out works. In 2000 he set up the Moscow office of Stroymontazh, which was renamed as Mirax Group in 2004. In 2000 Polonsky graduated from the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He was qualified as an economist and manager with a specialization in Economics and Management of Building Enterprises. In 2002 he defended his Ph.D. thesis on Formation of Functional Procurement Strategies in Construction.
During 11 years in Moscow, the company headed by Sergei Polonsky built 2.5 million square meters of elite class housing and offices, including the following projects: Korona Residential Property – a landmark project, the first one in Moscow reflecting state-of-the-art achievements in architecture, planning, construction technologies and landscaping. The ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of the Korona Project was quite an event in the construction trade of Moscow, which demonstrated a new, unusual, vigorous and assertive style of the young businessmen from St. Petersburg.
Golden Keys 2 Residential Property is the 2nd project implemented by Polonsky’s team. Polonsky suggested a comfortable “town in the city” living concept where high-rise residential buildings are mixed with a cottage village named "Y".
Then the company launched new business centers Pollars and Europe Building. In 2002-2007 the company started construction of residential properties Taganka House, Kutuzovskaya Riviera, Mirax Park and the Federation Tower
Federation Tower
The Federation Tower is a skyscraper currently under construction as part of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. Construction of the towers began in 2003. When completed it will be the tallest building in Europe. However, the construction stopped for a long while...
- mixed-use complex in the Moscow International Business Center
Moscow International Business Center
Moscow International Business Center , also referred to as Moscow-City is a commercial district of central Moscow, Russia...
- Moscow City.
In August 2008, in the midst of the global economic crisis, S. Polonsky published an open letter in his blog, where he admitted that for the last year Mirax Group could not get any credit to continue construction, and during the last few months they did not sell a single square meter of real estate, and due to lack of funds real estate commissioning deadlines would be reviewed and extended.
In February 2011, Sberbank
Sberbank
Sberbank Rossii is the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe. The company's headquarters are in Moscow and its history goes back to Cancrin's financial reform of 1841...
of Russia (Savings Bank of the Russian Federation) decided to grant Mirax Group a $373 million credit for 6 years. On 3 March 2011, at a media conference Sergey Polonskiy declared that the Board of Mirax Group decided to liquidate Mirax brand. He also promised to fulfill all the obligations of the Group on the projects completion and repaying the debts. In May 2011 works at the unfinished projects were resumed.
In different periods, Polonsky was a member of various voluntary associations: 2001-2005 – member of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Mayor and Government of Moscow, 2001-2010 – the “Business Russia” organization of entrepreneurs. In 2003 Polonsky was elected as Vice President of the Russian Academy of Business and Enterprising, in 2004 – Vice President of the public association of professional managers International Club of the Best Managers of the New Era. In 2005 Polonsky was one of those who established the Russian Builders’ Association, and till now remains its First Vice President.
Awards and prizes
- Merit badge of Honorary Russian Builder.
- The Construction Olympus 2002 award in the personal category “Manager of Complete-Cycle Construction Company”.
- Personal golden medal, diploma and personal merit badge of the French National Association for National Industry Support (Societe d’Encouragement pour L’Industrie Nationale, SPI).
Initiatives in education
- In March 2008, Polonsky refused to defend his doctorate thesis in the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles and organized a public defense in his blog.
- Polonsky arranges regular master classes for university students (MSU, MGIMO, HSE, MFPA and others) and lectures for the Nazvanie.NET personnel. The most popular topics of his master classes and lectures are enterprising, personal development and success strategies in business.
- Starting from academic year 2009-2010, Polonsky is the Chairman of the Management in Development Business Department set up under an agreement with the Moscow Finance and Industry Academy for training young specialists for the benefit of construction companies.
- In 2002 Polonsky was elected Senator and President of the International Chamber of Youth.
Polonsky and the outer space
In 2004 Sergey Polonskiy, preparing for a spaceflight to the International Space Station, completed a full astronaut training course, but the flight did not happen, because due to his height there was not enough room for his legs under the console, which could lead to injury whilst spacecraft landing.Fax taboo
In summer 2008, Polonsky officially banned use of faxes in the company, and backed the ban by a demonstrative destruction of a fax, commenting it as follows: “I don’t want people in my company to use outdated technologies. All faxes in MIRAX have been thrown on the scrap-heap. It does not affect the working efficiency, but, on the contrary, brings it up.”Predicted crisis
In 2008 Polonsky was the first developer who openly admitted that the Russian real estate market was hit by the global financial crisis. According to Anton Chernigovsky who wrote the article "Polonsky Makes a Demarche" published in the Business Magazine, “his competitors kept enthusiastic arguing that real estate was the last thing to be threatened by the crisis. But as early as in two months they had to withdraw, urgently suspending the projects and patching up financial gaps.”Tie eating
On 10 October 2008, Sergey Polonsky announced that he will eat his tie if the elite apartments’ prices do not rise more than by 25% in 1.5 years. The forecast came true with a half a year delay, and on 31 May 2011 Polonsky ate a piece of a true tie at Minaev LIVE, a TV-show hosted by Sergey Minaev.Mobile phones broken at a top management meeting
In March 2010 Sergey Polonsky threw a few company board members’ mobile phones against the wall at the board of directors meeting, thus putting an end to the corporate habit of using phones and other gadgets at business meetings. Exception could be made only for answering a call worth a million dollars to the company."Anyone who does not have a billion can go to…"
In spring 2008, six months before the crisis, Polonsky captured the public attention by saying at a private party, “Anyone who does not have a billion can go to hell”. There are two versions of what actually happened. The first suggests that this was an end-phrase of a joke told by Polonsky and caught by a passerby, the second is that in such way Polonsky jokingly cut the Gordian knot when answering the question who should be let to his private party in Nice, as the number of businessmen wishing to attend was three times more than expected.Facebook account is a must
In spring 2011, the company management announced that a candidate to be employed, among other things, must have a FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
account with not less than 20 friend links. The same applies to the company staff. According to Polonsky, having an account in Facebook, regardless of the position in the company, encourages intellectual development, helps social adaptation in the virtual environment, gives confidence when searching information in the Internet, boosts mental performance and expands cognitive horizons.
"Employees should get interested"
‘In our company we don’t force people to do things, we can only get them interested’, in such a way Polonsky explained to his managers why they should participate in trainings and seminars. Among the world renowned business-guru invited by Polonsky to give seminars in the company are John TschohlJohn Tschohl
John Tschohl is an American business consultant and customer service specialist.-Career:He is a specialist in customer service...
, Tom Peters
Tom Peters
Thomas J. "Tom" Peters is an American writer on business management practices, best-known for In Search of Excellence .-Life and career:Peters was born in Baltimore, Maryland...
, and Kjell A. Nordström
Kjell A. Nordström
Kjell Anders Nordström is a Swedish economist, writer and public speaker.Kjell A. Nordström was born in Skärholmen, a suburban district in southern Stockholm, but grew up on a small island in the Finnish Åland archipelago. His parents returned to Sweden in the 1960s...
(twice). According to Philip Kotler
Philip Kotler
Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.-Early life:He received his master's degree at the University of Chicago...
, creative head of the company is a big advantage for any brand, and a good basis to build on the Mirax marketing communication. He also suggested launching Sergei Polonsky on a flight in the Moscow sky with a jet pack, considering this a very creative idea.
Fight with banker Lebedev
On 16 September 2011, Polonsky was attacked by banker Alexander LebedevAlexander Lebedev
Alexander Yevgenievich Lebedev is a Russian businessman, referred to as one of the Russian oligarchs.In May 2008, he was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the richest Russians and as the 358th richest person in the world with an estimated fortune of $3.1 billion...
in the NTV (Russia) studio. According to the host of the show Anton Krasovsky, Polonsky’s conduct was appropriate and not provoking any aggression, “Throughout the show Polonsky behaved in the most appropriate manner, I had a feeling that he came for a meaningful talk.”
Shortly after the filming of the show on Friday, Polonsky wrote about the incident in his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
microblog. He also posted a photo of his injured arm. It should be noted that Lebedev punched Polonsky following his words, “This very man three years ago said that the Federation Tower…”
Polonsky was trying to convey that three years ago Levedev alleged a crack in the Federation Tower foundation, which raised potential tenant's concern. On the next day Polonsky invited journalists to the Federation Tower promising to pay a million of rubles if they find the crack. The journalists were allowed to all underground floors, including the minus fifth floor. But the long search brought no result. This is the whole story why Lebedev attacked Polonsky.
On 3 October 2011 a criminal case was instituted against Alexander Lebedev, a renowned businessman and a member of the Slobodskaya District Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
of the Kirov Region, under Article 213, Part 1, Clause B of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Hooliganism). The decision was made by the Investigative Committee of Russia
Investigative Committee of Russia
The Investigative Committee of Russian Federation is the main federal investigating authority in Russia, formed in place of the Investigative Committee of The Prosecutor of the Russian Federation. it began to operate on January 15, 2011...
based on pre-investigation check results.
Kutuzovskaya Mile residential property in a takeover context
“While I was having it out with Lebedev, raiders made an attack on the Kutuzovskaya Mile Project”, Polonsky wrote in his Twitter microblog on September 23. The private security company Vitiaz-R personnel attempted to establish control over the construction site acting on the request of the company FTsSR (the Federal Center for Social Development) by virtue of a resolution by the Moscow Government they had in their hands.The residential property Kutuzovskaya Mile is being constructed under a contract between FTsSR as the Principal Investor in the Project and the Moscow Government dated 2002. Avanta, LLC affiliated with the Mirax Group corporation was introduced into the Project as an Investor in 2005. Polonsky claims that this company has invested about 2.3 billion rubles into the Project (a lawsuit is for 1.972 billion rubles). However, later the Moscow Government terminated the contract with this Party in January 2010 due to Mirax Group’s liquidation, whereas the construction as it was came to a halt as early as March 2009 (as Polonsky contends because of disputes between FTsSR and Mirax Group). Not long before the attempt to impose control over the Project site, Avanta, LLC had agreed with MSM-5 to complete the Project construction. At the same time, FTsSR announced similar intentions and an investment amount of $180 mln. Polonsky is also taking effort to recover the funds invested into the Project through a legal action against FTsSR for the works under the contract. FTsSR representatives do not contest that they stopped funding the construction in August 2008 and all construction that followed took place without them. Despite the ongoing court proceedings, the Moscow Government entered into a contract with FTsSR, CJSC in September 2011.
Polonky has described FTsSR's actions as a raid in the media. "At this very moment the Project site, located at the construction site of the residential quarter Kutuzovskaya Mile, is being forcibly taken over", so goes an official statement of the company Nazvanie.net.
To protest against the actions of the Moscow authorities, Polonsky declared a hunger strike and continued to provide his round-the-clock presence at the construction site. As stated by the media office at the Moscow Chief Directorate of the Ministry for the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, "The police stay uninvolved in the conflict. Those officers of the law enforcement agencies who are present at the scene are maintaining the public order".
Unusual Russian businessmen
In October, 2011, Sergei Polonsky was noted by the Forbes magazine as one of the 9 most unusual Russian businessmen - fantastical fellows, cranks and eccentrics.Hobbies
- QigongQigongQigong or chi kung is a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation...
- Logical brain teasers (for example, from Iakov Perelman’s books "Mathematics for Entertainment", "Physics for Pleasure ", etc.)
- Extreme sports: parachuting, kitesurfingKitesurfingKitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
, free ride, etc. - Keeping a diary filled with meditations on mental, visual and aural experiences. Two books of such records were prepared and published in 2010.
External links
- Official site
- Official twitter account
- Moscow's elite properties top London's, Russian Business News, June 1, 2008
- Sergei Polonsky in talks with London Bridge ‘shard’ developer for One Blackfriars, Russian Business News, August 3, 2008
- Mirax assets frozen over unpaid debts of $242m, Russian Business News, September 15, 2009
- Polonsky will Settle his Debts in Three Years, Office Monitor, July 1, 2011
- Alexander Lebedev in Russian TV punch-up, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, September 18, 2011 - Vladimir Putin calls Alexander Lebedev attack on Sergei Polonsky 'hooliganism', The Telegraph, September 21, 2011
- Lebedev Under Investigation for TV Fight, The Moscow TimesThe Moscow TimesThe Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
, October 10, 2011