In his skinny jeans and basketball shoes, he may appear to be the model of a modern media mogul. However, Alexander Lebedev, the billionaire owner of the London-based Independent and London Evening Standard, has shown a flash of his old KGB steel after punching a businessman in the face during a Russian television show.
Lebedev, 51, knocked Sergei Polonsky, a property developer, from his chair as both men were appearing as guests on a show about the global financial crisis that was being recorded in Moscow for the NTV channel on Friday.
Polonsky, a wealthy real-estate developer, gestured at Lebedev saying: “I’m already worn out from the desire to give [him] a punch in the chops.”
In response, Lebedev said: “Well, try it” and sprang to his feet.
Lebedev was persuaded by the host to take his seat, but seconds later he swung from a sitting position and hit Polonsky with a right cross as the latter began criticizing him again. A second blow that did not connect cleanly sent the developer tumbling backward in his chair to the floor.
The newspaper owner then advanced across the stage in a hunched, pugilist’s pose and stopped in front of Polonsky, saying: “Go on then, or are you waiting for me to take off my glasses?”
There were gasps of shock and the host called security guards as the two faced off.
A stricken-looking Polonsky, 38, the former owner of Mirax Group, a large developing company that went bankrupt earlier this year, did not respond for some moments before mumbling: “I’m in shock.”
Both men were persuaded to calm down.
Polonsky is known for his brash statements, saying in 2008 that anyone without a billion US dollars is a “loser” and “those who don’t have a billion, can go to hell.”
During the recording of the NTV show he reportedly complained to Lebedev for drawing public attention to a crack in a skyscraper Polonsky was building in Moscow.
Both men commented on the confrontation on social media over the weekend. Polonsky posted a picture of a scratch on his arm and of the seat of his jeans with a tear in it. He said he had requested footage and would consider legal action against Lebedev.
“NTV has promised to give a full copy of the program for a court action,” Polonsky wrote on Twitter. “How disgusting ... it all is.”
Lebedev, who served as an officer in the KGB and Russia’s foreign intelligence service, played down the incident in interviews.
He told a news agency he had asked Polonsky to confirm whom he wanted to punch: “I said: ‘Do you mean me?’ He replied: ‘Yes.’ After which I neatly neutralized that absolutely unfounded threat.”
Lebedev said Polonsky had “behaved like a street hooligan,” been rude to guests and conducted himself with “real aggression” during the recording of the show.
The two men received expressions of support online, with Lebedev appearing to gain the most.
Dmitri Rogozin, Russia’s representative to NATO, tweeted: “Nice one, Lebedev, although fighting is not good. He deserved it. You’re a real man.”
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Sosoaca, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll. Earlier this month, Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau barred Calin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40 percent ahead of the rerun election. Georgescu, a fierce EU and NATO critic, shot to prominence in November last year when he unexpectedly topped a first round of presidential voting. However, Romania’s constitutional court annulled the election after claims of Russian interference and a “massive” social media promotion in his favor. On Saturday, an electoral commission statement
Chinese authorities increased pressure on CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd over its plan to sell its Panama ports stake by sharing a second newspaper commentary attacking the deal. The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on Saturday reposted a commentary originally published in Ta Kung Pao, saying the planned sale of the ports by the Hong Kong company had triggered deep concerns among Chinese people and questioned whether the deal was harming China and aiding evil. “Why were so many important ports transferred to ill-intentioned US forces so easily? What kind of political calculations are hidden in the so-called commercial behavior on the
RSS