How the Dolina—Lurie case affected Russian society. Analysis

The Supreme Court of Russia has resolved a dispute between singer Larisa Dolina and Polina Lurie, who bought an apartment in Moscow from her. Although the artist was influenced by fraudsters, the deal was recognized as valid, and Dolina must transfer the purchased property to Lurie. The proceedings in this case attracted the attention of Russians and provoked a short-term panic in the housing market. The impact of the "Dolina case" is described in the Izvestia article.

How the trial ended

• The Judicial Board for Civil Cases of the Supreme Court considered the case of the sale of Larisa Dolina's apartment. She overturned the decisions of the lower authorities and ruled that the purchase and sale transaction was valid, and the disputed real estate in Moscow should belong to Lurie. The Supreme Court noted that Dolina illegally occupies the apartment and must voluntarily leave it, otherwise the lower court will consider the issue of evicting the singer. The decision to transfer ownership rights to Lurie took effect immediately.

• The Valley case has now come to an end. The Supreme Court's decision will have to change the practice of challenging real estate transactions throughout the country. It is expected that now the plenum of the Supreme Court will be asked how the courts should consider such claims in the future. Experts are confident that now the stories of when a person bought an apartment and was left without real estate and without money will end.

• The way the seller of real estate subsequently disposed of the funds received, even being in error, will no longer apply to housing purchase and sale transactions, the buyer will no longer be responsible for the seller. Each controversial transaction will continue to be considered individually, as there is no case law in Russia, but the courts have received a certain vector for decision-making. In the future, it will be easier for bona fide parties to defend their rights by referring to the high-profile decision of the Supreme Court.

• It is worth remembering that the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which allow canceling real estate transactions, continue to apply. This is possible if one of the parties is acting under the influence of deception or deception by the other party or third parties. However, this is only possible if the legal and factual composition that falls under these rules is fully proven. But the Supreme Court found that if one of the parties was unaware of the fact that the other party was in error, then such a transaction could not be considered void.

Impact on the housing market

• The hype surrounding the Dolina case has caused a certain emotional reaction in the housing market. Public discussion of this and other similar cases, when a bona fide buyer of real estate ended up without an apartment and without money, changed behavior in the secondary market and made him more cautious. Potential buyers began to distrust the age-related sellers, and also began to demand additional guarantees of the irreversibility of the transaction: certificates of mental health, the participation of witnesses, video recording of the transaction, notarization. However, judicial practice in recent months has shown that even such evidence often did not help preserve the right to a purchased apartment.

• The media also wrote about the increased demand for primary real estate. Buyers began to consider such purchases less risky, since the sale is carried out by a developer, rather than a private individual who may be influenced by fraudsters. This, in turn, gave the developers a reason to raise prices somewhat. At the same time, demand for old housing stock, especially excessively expensive ones, decreased slightly.

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• However, the panic caused by the "Valley effect" did not affect the volume of transactions. So, in Moscow, the number of sales on the secondary market did not break out of the usual trend, and in October even reached a maximum at the beginning of the year, amounting to 13.98 thousand transactions per month. The number of legal proceedings on the recognition of transactions as invalid in 2025 has just started to decline.

• The real estate market as a whole has maintained its stability, and its participants have increased their awareness and caution regarding transactions. Now that the Supreme Court has passed a decision, it will become even more secure and stable. Unscrupulous sellers are unlikely to be able to achieve the cancellation of transactions under the "Valley scheme".

Impact on society

• The proceedings between Dolina and Lurie attracted the attention of not only those who are connected with or interested in the real estate market, but also literally the entire Russian society. VTsIOM noted that almost 90% of Russians surveyed had heard about the scandal in one way or another, and in large cities this proportion was even higher. At the same time, at least two thirds of respondents stated that they did not support the first court decisions, according to which Dolina had to keep her apartment after receiving money from Lurie.

• This scandal has caused serious damage to the reputation of the People's Artist of Russia. There was a tendency in society for Dolina to be "canceled": her performances and public appearances were canceled, her past controversial statements began to be brought to the public's attention, and users of social networks began to arrange comic flash mobs ridiculing the singer. The heat of passion around Dolina began to subside after she expressed a desire to return the money for the apartment to Lurie, but resumed when it turned out in court that it was an installment plan without taking into account inflation and other lost benefits.

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• The Dolina case and the positive reaction to its outcome demonstrated society's demand for social and property justice. It highlighted the fragility of the transactions and the ease with which they could be canceled. Many people who own residential property and perceive it as their most valuable asset have experienced the full range of negative consequences they could experience if they were in Lurie's shoes.

• Although cases of cancellations of transactions concluded under pressure from scammers have been known for a long time, dissatisfaction with this state of affairs has spilled out due to the involvement of Dolina, a celebrity with some influence due to her fame, in the scandal. Although scandalous incidents with stars have already occurred recently, the most striking of which was the "naked party," the Dolina case had a much greater impact, as it affected the property interests of millions of Russians. This topic is perceived so painfully that it can lead to real human rights campaigns and court proceedings at the highest level.

When writing the material, Izvestia communicated with:

• lawyer Timur Matveev;
• lawyer Ramil Taymazov.