A car belonging to Mikhail Beketov, who was the editor of local opposition newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda, as well as an active participant of the Movement to Defend Khimki Forest, was set ablaze with flammable liquid. At approximately the same time Beketov’s dog was killed by unknown persons, apparently as a warning. Before this, Mikhail had published some articles criticizing Khimki Mayor Vladimir Strelchenko for various scandals, including the routing of the Moscow-St. Petersburg motorway within forest land with the clear intention of further commercial “development” of the land. In a TV interview, Mikhail Beketov publicly accused Khimki mayor Vladimir Strelchenko of involvement in these attacks. As a response, the Mayor started a campaign of intimidation against the journalist.
