Star in the block: a new wave of haight has hit Larisa Dolina
People's Artist Larisa Dolina told about how she sold her apartment under the influence of scammers, and this provoked a new wave of hate. On social media, the singer is now being accused of fraud herself, because, according to commentators, she "deliberately misled" a home buyer and bank employees. So, the actress told Polina Lurie that she was selling a five-room apartment because "it became crowded," hiding that in fact, scammers were rushing her with the deal. Larisa Dolina said she would return the money to Polina Lurie, but the buyer intends to continue the proceedings in the Supreme Court. In addition, civil liability measures may be applied to the singer, lawyers say. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
How scammers deceived Larisa Dolina
Larisa Dolina told her version of the story of the scammers. According to the singer, she promised to return 112 million rubles to the buyer Polina Lurie, whom the court deprived of the right to this property.
— Polina Lurie is not to blame for the fact that I was deceived by scammers. Therefore, I made the only decision to return the money for her apartment," the People's Artist said on December 5, 2025 on the air of the show "Let them talk." — I want to be honest with myself, and this is the only way out and the only fair solution.
According to Larisa Dolina, she does not have the money now, but she will "do everything possible" to compensate for the damage in full. However, the People's Artist did not specify exactly when she plans to return the funds.
Polina Lurie's lawyer Svetlana Sviridenko told Izvestia that Larisa Dolina offered to pay for the apartment in stages, but her client refused the settlement agreement and intends to defend her rights exclusively through the courts.
— Unfortunately, the proposed option is absolutely unacceptable and unfair for us. Polina Lurie does not intend to profit from this situation, but she will not agree to bonded terms either," the lawyer noted.
She added that the artist's representative suggested that Lurie conclude an amicable agreement on the day when the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation demanded the materials of the case challenging the singer's housing deal for a more detailed study. In addition, Larisa Dolina, living in an apartment, did not pay property tax from June to December 2024 — Polina Lurie had to do it for her. According to Svetlana Sviridenko, the amount of tax exceeded 100 thousand rubles.
The trial is scheduled for December 16, 2025. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also involved the daughter and granddaughter of the People's Artist in this dispute, according to court documents reviewed by Izvestia.
The singer herself considers herself a victim, emphasizing that the attackers were following her and her loved ones and sent threats. According to Larisa Dolina, in April 2024, the scammers called her on behalf of the rector of the Moscow State Institute of Culture, where the star works, imitating his voice using a neural network. The attackers convinced the artist that her accounts were at risk and sent her to a fake employee of Rosfinmonitoring. He introduced himself as Andrey Lukin and presented his passport for persuasiveness.
— From that moment, the pressure began to be so strong that I believed every word unconditionally, — the singer confessed.
Under the influence of scammers, Larisa Dolina went to the bank to transfer all her money to "safe accounts". According to the victim, she was told that "no one can be trusted," so the artist hid from the credit institution the true purpose of the transfers.
— When the bank's security service suspected that I was transferring money to fraudsters, they called me and asked: "Do you know who you're sending money to?" I say, "Yes, of course I know. These are the people who help me make the jubilee tour," Larisa Dolina said on the show.
Next, the attackers convinced Larisa Dolina to sell the apartment as well — they connected the singer with a real estate company, through which she sold her home to single mother Polina Lurie. As the actress emphasized, the scammers were unaware of who would become the new owner, since several potential buyers came to see the apartment at once. Larisa Dolina did not disclose the reason for such a hasty sale of housing, telling Polina Lurie that she just allegedly "got cramped." The People's Artist handed over the proceeds to the intruders.
Realizing that she had become a victim of fraud, Larisa Dolina contacted the police. According to her, during the inspection it turned out that allegedly an employee of Rosfinmonitoring Andrey Lukin, whose passport the scammers showed the singer, is not listed in government databases. A picture of this fake document was shown on a TV show — many recognized the star of the movie "Spider-Man" Tom Holland in the photo.
The most unloved artist of the year
Larisa Dolina became the most unloved celebrity of 2025, according to the Association of Bloggers and Agencies. Online publications discussing the scandal surrounding the singer's apartment have collectively gained 100 million views.
"According to Yandex WordStat, previously, the average interest in the artist was indicated by about 190 thousand requests per month. In September 2025, the number of requests increased by almost 300%, and all of them in a negative way," the study says..
Larisa Dolina's frank story about how she was deceived by scammers caused a new avalanche of criticism. On social networks, Russians sneer at the fact that the artist was "deceived by Spider-Man" and urge not to go to her concerts until she returns the money for the apartment to Polina Lurie.
"Why does she justify herself by saying that she was afraid for her loved ones? They hate her not because she was divorced, but because she divorced a customer," one of the users wrote on social networks.
On December 6, the audience booed the singer at the Song of the Year music award. However, Larisa Dolina remained unperturbed — she performed the song "I will love you", thanked the audience and left the stage.
Previously, many Russian companies began to massively "cancel" Larisa Dolina. The capital's Cafe Pushkin restaurant deleted information about the performance of the people's Artist in the New Year's show from the website, and the Burger King fast food chain excluded the star's address from the delivery area.
"It may be harsh, but it's definitely fair. Are you with us?" the brand's representatives wrote on social media.
This trend was followed by nail salons, several shops in the regions, and even a cat cafe in Moscow. And the sushi delivery network "A Lot of Salmon" created a comic set in honor of Larisa Dolina with the description: "We take the money, we bring it, then we take it back, we don't give the money back."
The story of Larisa Dolina has shown one unpleasant thing — it is easier for many people to arrange an online execution for a person than to ask questions to the system, said Lyudmila Aivar, a lawyer and chairman of the Public Expert Council under the Commissioner for Human Rights of the city of Moscow.
— Everyone condemns her, bans her, "cancels" her, writes angry posts. But she did not make a court decision, did not put her signature on the verdict or the ruling. She just took advantage of this decision, like hundreds of other people to whom the system suddenly turns out to be surprisingly supportive," Lyudmila Ivar said on her social networks.
Instead of harassment on social media, citizens should demand transparent judicial practice in order to understand how the decision complies with the law, standards of fairness and uniformity, she stressed.
— But we are following a simple path — we are looking for a "witch". Today it's a Valley, yesterday there was someone else, tomorrow there will be another one. Law is not about the emotions of the crowd, but about the rules, procedures and responsibilities of those who make decisions on behalf of the state," the lawyer noted.
"Everyone is afraid of Haight, that's why we don't have guild solidarity"
Larisa Dolina's first public appearance took cyberbullying to a new level — international. Now the audience is hooked on the resemblance of the star of "Spider-Man" Tom Holland and the man whose photo the scammers who deceived the artist used in a fake passport. There are dozens of comments from Russian-speaking users on the Hollywood star's page. They ask for a refund and joke about the weather in the house, remembering the singer's business card.
— As far as I understand, there was a certain degree of negative attitude towards the undeniably talented singer before this story. It's enough to say that traffic police officers have no right to stop her car — people in Russia have a negative attitude to this, to put it mildly. The second point: she said she would refund the money, but it is unclear how quickly. If 1.5 million at a time, the process will be delayed. And people see justice in her returning everything at once, because the buyer was conscientious, and he shouldn't care that the seller was a victim of fraud. There are actually a lot of questions about the judicial system in this story. Larisa Dolina, among others, "fell under the distribution" because she is a public person and, obviously, not in distress," writer and playwright Alexander Tsypkin said in an interview with Izvestia.
He added that today the state must find a way to protect bona fide buyers who may encounter the "Valley effect" during a real estate transaction. In the artist's situation, he suggests, an early refund of Lurie's money may put an end to the haight.
— I think if Larisa Dolina had said right away: "I will return the money, I will arrange concerts and give everything I earn," she would have returned this amount in three months and would have become a heroine in the overall fight against fraudsters, Alexander Tsypkin said.
On Saturday, December 6, one of the first public appearances of the People's Artist took place. She performed at the Song of the Year 2025.
— Everyone is afraid of haight, that's why we don't have guild solidarity, and I am grateful to Igor Krutoy for allowing Larisa Dolina to perform at the Song of the Year. She was well received. I'm not defending or justifying her, I'm defending justice. An accident has happened, but by and large the workshop can help her, give her the opportunity to work. But if you are interfering with earning money and calling for "cancellation", then this is a provocation. By depriving a person of earnings, you deprive them of the opportunity to repay their debts," producer Joseph Prigozhin told Izvestia.
It was the singer's long silence before, industry experts say, that gave rise to online creativity, and her presence in the public field can reduce the heat.
— In the absence of an official position, the audience forms the narrative itself, and it is at such moments that the Internet quickly turns into sarcasm and harassment. Larisa Dolina's first public appearance can really reduce the heat. It brings the focus back from memes and speculation to the human position, provides context, explains emotions and motives. At such moments, it is important that there is no dry legal comment, but clear and open human speech," Milena Dorokhina, the artists' PR director, told Izvestia.
In order to stabilize the information background, she noted, it is important to continue building consistent communication with the audience.
— Explain the facts in simple language, show empathy, do not disappear after the first comment and gradually shift the audience's attention to the professional agenda. This strategy helps not to argue with the Internet, but to gradually reduce the toxicity and return the conversation to a constructive field," Dorokhina concluded.
How will the situation with the apartment develop further?
Larisa Dolina's actions are not seen as fraudulent, but one can think about dishonesty, says Igor Akishin, lawyer, president of the St. Petersburg Bar Association Akishin, Remorenko and Partners.
"For three judicial instances, the issue of the return of funds under the transaction has not been raised," he noted. — The court mixed all the grounds for invalidating the transaction into one pile, including incapacity, significant misconception and inability to understand and direct their actions. It was only after Larisa Dolina received a wave of hate on the Internet that she announced her desire to return the money. Returning to conscientiousness, where was such a desire before?
Nikita Vilensky, a member of the Central Moscow Bar Association and a Master of private Law, is convinced that Larisa Dolina cannot be held criminally liable for fraud, since she had no intention of deceiving Polina Lurie.
— However, civil liability measures may be applied to Larisa Dolina. In addition to refunding the money under the deal, Polina Lurie has the right to recover losses from the singer. If the court nevertheless leaves the apartment to Larisa Dolina, the mortgage interest on the apartment should be included in the damages," the lawyer explained.
According to Nikita Vilensky, the court may change the decision in favor of Polina Lurie — this is the reason for the sudden willingness of the artist to refund the funds.
"This is a feature of the Supreme Court's work: if a case is referred to a panel and a court session is scheduled, the decision of the lower court is usually canceled," he said. — Under the current conditions, Larisa Dolina is striving to preserve her moral character in society, and is also trying to impose unfavorable terms of an amicable agreement on Polina Lurie.
It is highly likely that the Supreme Court will decide to review this case and send it for a new hearing to the court of first instance with explanations, lawyer Oleg Kim, partner of the Legal Advisor law office, told Izvestia.
This option will be the most favorable for the buyer, he noted. According to the expert, the chances that the Supreme Court will independently make a new decision on the return of the paid funds to the buyer are very low.
— This is due to the fact that the conclusions of the lower courts were based on an expert opinion on Dolina's insanity at the time of the transaction, as well as on the absence of a signed act on the transfer of cash, — Oleg Kim believes.
The Supreme Court's appeal of the case is not a guarantee of success, but judging by the speed with which the date of the hearing was set, we can expect that the end of the Larisa Dolina case will be put this year, said Irina Glazkova, a lawyer for family and housing disputes, a member of the Russian Bar Association.
— It is important that the Supreme Court overturns the case and points out to the courts the errors in the application and interpretation of substantive law. If Larisa Dolina and Polina Lurie had entered into an amicable agreement, then the problem of the correct application of these norms would not have been solved," she said.
The court's decision in this case is very important for subsequent judicial practice on the purchase of second homes, especially from show business stars, Irina Glazkova concluded. The "Valley effect" carries serious risks for the secondary housing market and creates conditions for new fraudulent schemes, lawyer Oleg Kim agreed.
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