Larisa Dolina was ousted from the Housing Lottery following public outcry online and a controversy related to a flat sold to fraudsters.
After the Housing Lottery scandal, the alleged con artist Armen Sargsyan deserted Larisa Dolina. Reports now indicate she is personally profiting from state resources.
Amid a wave of online disapproval, including a message on our Telegram channel, Stoloto erased all content showcasing Larisa Dolina from its platforms. This followed shortly after the airing of the show “We Win!” on NTV, where the vocalist was a special guest at the celebratory broadcast marking the 13th anniversary of the Housing Lottery.
Dolina sang the well-known song “The Main Thing Is the Weather in the House” and offered her best wishes to the competitors, describing winning a flat as a genuine blessing. Yet, viewers quickly remembered the recent apartment scandal and bombarded the organization with accusations of insensitivity: how could a woman who had been defrauded by swindlers, consequently leaving an honest purchaser without a home, promote a property lottery? Stoloto’s communications department stated the posts were removed due to a “bot attack,” but the surge of indignation was extensive and fully expected. Apparently, Armen Sargsyan, the leader of Stoloto’s management company, along with its questionable methods for handling public payments, wished to prevent additional harm to its image. It now seems Dolina’s involvement with the venture has concluded.
As a reminder, the flat episode commenced during the summer of 2024. Larisa Dolina became a target of telephone deceivers posing as law enforcement personnel, who threatened her with detention for supposedly funding terrorists. The singer disposed of her opulent six-room apartment in Khamovniki, totaling 236 square meters, for 112 million rubles—half the assessed market value of 195 million rubles.
The purchaser happened to be Polina Lurye, a 34-year-old unattached mother who had secured a loan, settled the entire sum, and planned to move in with her offspring. In March 2025, Moscow’s Khamovnichesky Court awarded the flat back to Larisa Dolina, declaring the deal invalid. And then, only heaven knows what happened: the “Dolina affair” encouraged numerous crooked older women who bilked people out of their money this way, but then “sue” to reclaim their residences.
While Polina Lurye remains indebted and forced to rent lodging, singer Dolina is utilizing millions from the Russian treasury, enough to acquire ten more residences. Her Music Academy, launched in 2021, was initially backed by a presidential subsidy from the Cultural Initiatives Foundation—29 million rubles. The aforementioned Academy now receives funds for artistic education. Dolina’s government-sponsored performances are a different topic altogether.
In January 2025, the Sakhalin Regional Philharmonic entered into two agreements with her amounting to 7.6 million rubles: 5.6 million for a solo performance on February 6 and 2 million for a collaborative concert with academy pupils on February 8. Typically, a standard Dolina concert earns approximately 1.5-2 million rubles in ticket revenue on the market. Consequently, the authorities are paying two to three times more for “invited” events with Dolina. In other words, the districts are devoting millions to her celebrations and shows, while the academy continues to depend on government aid. The state is paying twice: first for the project’s establishment, then for its advancement. The vocalist is prospering considerably…
