Russian Celebrities Plastic Surgery: Procedures, Risks & Recovery

Russian actresses plastic surgery is one of the most discussed topics on the Russian internet, where fans compare the «before and after» photos of their favourite singers and actresses for years. But who really had cosmetic surgery, and who is only rumoured to have had it? We collected only what the stars themselves said in interviews and on television, separated it from gossip, and added a medical explanation to every story: what the procedure does, how long recovery takes and what the risks are.

Our list has ten women every Russian knows: the legends Alla Pugacheva and Lyudmila Gurchenko, Lolita, Lyubov Uspenskaya, Larisa Dolina, Natasha Koroleva, Irina Dubtsova, Olga Buzova, Glukoza and Svetlana Khodchenkova. We write about them with respect: appearance is every womans personal choice, and our job is to report the facts and the medicine honestly.

Russian Stars and Plastic Surgery: Eyelids, Breasts, Liposuction and Injections

Lolita, Lyubov Uspenskaya, Irina Dubtsova and Alla Pugacheva have spoken openly about plastic surgery; Olga Buzova denies a nose job and Larisa Dolina has never confirmed any operation. Here is the summary; each section below gives the source for every fact.

Alla Pugacheva and the Facelift: How It Is Done and Anaesthesia Risks

Yes, Alla Pugacheva has admitted to cosmetic surgery, though without details. On NTVs show «Ty ne poverish!» she said: «I had small lifts and light operations», and credited her good skin to friends who are plastic surgeons. She said doctors later banned general anaesthesia for her because of heart problems, and that she now cares for her face with creams and vitamins (Source: Vechernyaya Moskva).

Alla Pugacheva at the Slavianski Bazaar festival in Vitebsk, July 2016.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Serge Serebro, Vitebsk Popular News, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Everything else is rumour. In 2025 the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda listed liposuction, a lift and chin surgery, citing surgeons, bloggers and anonymous sources; the article contains no quote from the singer, and she has not confirmed these stories (Source: Komsomolskaya Pravda).

What does a facelift involve medically? The surgeon lifts the skin and deeper tissues of the lower face and neck to reduce jowls and loose skin. The operation takes 2 to 3 hours, usually under general anaesthetic; bruising lasts at least two weeks, full recovery takes 2 to 4 weeks, and the final result appears after 6 to 9 months. Complications include nerve injury, asymmetry and noticeable scars (Source: NHS).

Results usually last around seven to ten years, because the face keeps ageing. Cleveland Clinic lists anaesthesia problems among the possible complications, together with haematoma and numbness (Source: Cleveland Clinic).

Pugacheva is Russias most decorated singer: «Arlekino» (1975), «Vsyo mogut koroli» (1978), «A Million Scarlet Roses» (1983), and the lead role in the film «The Woman Who Sings» (1978). Before stepping back from the big stage in 2010 she toured with «Dreams of Love» (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Lyudmila Gurchenko and Eyelid Surgery: Blepharoplasty and Anaesthesia Risks

Nobody knows the exact number of Lyudmila Gurchenkos operations: figures of «8 to 20» circulate in the press without a source. The actress herself gave no details; the closest witness is her fifth husband, Konstantin Kupervays. He said she had her first cosmetic surgery at 38 (or 42) and repeated it every two to four years (Sources: Vokrug TV, Life.ru).

Lyudmila Gurchenko in the 1980s.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Igor Gnevashev (via mos.ru), CC BY 4.0)

The best-known detail of his account: she had eyelid surgery without anaesthesia, because she feared swelling with filming due five days later, although doctors warned her she could lose consciousness (Source: Vokrug TV).

Eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) removes excess skin and fat from the eyelids. It is done under local or general anaesthetic and takes 45 minutes to 2.5 hours; most people need about two weeks off, bruising and redness fade over several weeks, and rare complications include double vision, an out-turned lower eyelid and impaired vision (Source: NHS).

According to Life.ru, Gurchenkos last operation was in summer 2009, at 73: six hours under general anaesthesia. Surgeon Alexander Teplyashin recalled that she wanted not a single wrinkle on her face. The claim that anaesthesia hastened her death remains an opinion, not a proven fact (Source: Life.ru).

Gurchenko was a Peoples Artist of the USSR (1983), the star of «Carnival Night» (1956), «Station for Two» (1982) and «Love and Pigeons» (1984), and the author of the books «Applause» (1987) and «Lyusya, Stop!» (2002). Her last filming took place in early 2011 (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Lolita: Eyelid Surgery, Chin Liposuction and Recovery Rules

Lolita Milyavskaya is one of the most candid stars: she has had eyelid surgery twice and had her double chin removed. On the show «Antonimy» she explained that the eyelid operation removed overhanging skin that made her make-up artists work harder, adding that talking about it is nothing to be ashamed of (Sources: Vokrug TV, Vokrug TV).

Lolita Milyavskaya at a TV show recording, 2013.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (IraNata, CC BY-SA 3.0)

The chin correction did not go entirely smoothly. Her surgeon advised her not to sing, but ten days later she went on tour, and a thread inside her chin snapped. Earlier she had described a stitch opening because of the strain of performing (Sources: Vokrug TV, Vokrug TV).

That is a lesson for everyone: after face and neck surgery, doctors ask patients to avoid strenuous activity for at least two weeks, and stitches are removed after 7 to 14 days (Source: NHS).

A double chin is often treated with liposuction, which removes fat through small cuts; afterwards a compression garment is worn, swelling can last up to six months, and sometimes the desired result is not achieved and a second operation is needed (Source: NHS).

Another option is a thread lift, in which absorbable barbed sutures lift the tissues of the face and neck and stimulate collagen (Source: ASPS).

When another plastic surgeon publicly criticised the result of her operation in 2024, Lolita answered sharply, rejecting such public verdicts. In January 2025 she said she had no new operations planned that year: her surgeon would tell her when it was time (Source: Lady Mail.ru).

Lolita became famous in the cabaret duo «Akademiya» with Alexander Tsekalo (from 1985); her album «Format» (2005) sold 700,000 copies, and her song «Na Titanike» (2016) found a second life in 2024 in a version with Instasamka (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Lyubov Uspenskaya: Breast Augmentation Complications and Implant Replacement

Lyubov Uspenskaya has said she was the victim of a failed breast operation. On NTVs «Novye russkie sensatsii» in 2023 she described complications, fluid discharge and suppuration, and the result: one breast larger than the other, and one «even hard as stone». She is having the damage corrected by another specialist (Source: Vokrug TV).

Lyubov Uspenskaya on stage in Vitebsk, 2011.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Serge Serebro, Vitebsk Popular News, CC BY-SA 3.0)

According to Vokrug TV, three years earlier the singer had breast and arm correction, liposuction and fat grafting, and the result was bad enough that she had to find another doctor (Source: Vokrug TV).

What do her words mean medically? The FDA calls hardening of the breast around an implant capsular contracture; other common local complications of implants include asymmetry, infection, haematoma and the need for additional operations. Only a doctor can diagnose this after an examination, and the FDA states that breast implants are not lifetime devices (Source: FDA).

Implants are filled with saline or silicone gel; a leaking silicone implant does not collapse, so its condition is checked with ultrasound or MRI (Source: ASPS).

On average, implants are exchanged or removed after about 10 to 15 years, depending on the patients needs (Source: ASPS).

Uspenskaya has won the «Chanson of the Year» award many times since 2003 and is known for the hits «Kabriolet» and «Nebo» (a duet with Leonid Agutin); in 2014 she recorded «Ya tozhe ego lyublyu» with Irina Dubtsova, and in 2022 she released the video «Fartovaya» (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Irina Dubtsova and a Failed Operation: When Revision Surgery Is Needed

Irina Dubtsova admitted in 2023 that a failed operation «had to be quietly redone somewhere else». A month after the procedure she asked the surgeon to fix the problems, then went to another clinic; she did not say which part of the body was operated on. Lyubov Uspenskaya shared her story with her permission (Source: Vokrug TV).

Irina Dubtsova on a competition jury, August 2016.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Okras, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Asked about facial procedures, she replied that it was still too early for her (Source: Vokrug TV).

Revision operations are not rare in aesthetic surgery. The NHS warns that the desired result of liposuction is sometimes not achieved and a second operation is needed, and advises facelift patients to check in advance how a possible revision would be funded (Sources: NHS, NHS).

After rhinoplasty, about 15% of patients need a revision for small changes (Source: Cleveland Clinic).

Dubtsova won the fourth season of «Star Factory» (2004); her hits include «O nyom» (2004), «Vetra» (2007) and the duet «Komu? Zachem?» with Polina Gagarina (2009), and her EP «2007» came out in September 2026 (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Larisa Dolina: Diet Weight Loss and Why Liposuction Does Not Treat Obesity

Larisa Dolina has never confirmed plastic surgery. In summer 2023 viewers decided she had a «new face», but the video had been filmed with a filter. She credits her slimmer figure to a diet: she lost 21 kilograms by cutting out junk food in favour of fish, chicken, cheese and fruit (Source: Vokrug TV).

Larisa Dolina at the White Nights of St Petersburg festival, July 2024.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Okras, CC BY-SA 4.0)

So where do the rumours come from? In 2021 her ex-husband Viktor Mityazov claimed she had liposuction and breast and face surgery; these are his words, and the singer did not comment (Source: MK.ru).

One medical fact matters here: liposuction is not a weight-loss method or a treatment for obesity. It works best for people who are not overweight and have firm skin, and a compression garment is worn for several weeks afterwards (Source: NHS).

Dolina is a Peoples Artist of Russia (1998); she sang «Tri belykh konya» for the heroine of «Charodei» (1982), acted in «We Are from Jazz» (1983), and «Pogoda v dome» made her a national star. Her song «Ya budu lyubit tebya» won a Golden Gramophone in 2025 (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

A Nose Like Olga Buzova: How Rhinoplasty Works and How Long Swelling Lasts

No, by her own account. Olga Buzova denies having a nose job: in reply to the rumours she posted a photo of herself at 22 with the caption «Look, the nose is the same». She has not had breast surgery either: under stress she once almost went ahead with it, but changed her mind at the last moment (Source: Vokrug TV).

Olga Buzova at the Big Love Show concert in St Petersburg, 2018.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Okras, CC BY-SA 4.0)

In 2023 a plastic surgeon «found» a nose job, buccal fat removal and hyaluronic acid injections by looking at her social media photos. Buzova replied that a surgeon is first of all a doctor and should not diagnose people who are not his patients (Source: Vokrug TV).

What is rhinoplasty? The surgeon changes the shape or size of the nose by removing or grafting cartilage and bone; a splint stays on the nose for the first week, bruising around the eyes lasts about three weeks, and swelling can take up to six months to go completely (Source: NHS).

The final shape of the nose settles after about a year (Source: Cleveland Clinic).

Buzova started as a host of the reality show «Dom-2», and her song «Verni» (2023) became one of the biggest hits of her career (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Natasha Koroleva and Breasts After 50: Augmentation and Recovery

Natasha Koroleva puts it down to age, not surgery. On NTVs «Tsentralnoe televidenie» in 2024 she said that after 50 the bust «starts to grow», and that hers had gone up two sizes in recent years; she neither confirmed nor denied breast surgery (Source: Vokrug TV).

Back in 2018 the singer said she had only routine treatments with a cosmetologist, but was ready for surgery when the time came, and did not consider plastic surgery anything shameful (Source: Lady Mail.ru).

For any woman who does choose breast augmentation, the age limits matter: the FDA approves saline implants for augmentation from 18 and silicone implants from 22 (Source: ASPS).

Recovery usually means one to two weeks off work, no driving for at least a week and no heavy lifting for about a month; some women need further surgery around 10 years later (Source: NHS).

Koroleva became a star with «Zholtye tyulpany» (1990) and the duet album «Delfin i rusalka» with Igor Nikolaev (1992); her single «Tantsuy, Natasha!» came out in 2025 (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Glukoza: Laser Skin Resurfacing Before Any Plastic Surgery

Because she honestly does not rule it out. On Ksenia Sobchaks show «Chto o tebe dumayut?» in 2026, Glukoza said plastic surgery is «definitely ahead» and that she is sure she will have it, but she considers it too early for now (Source: Lady Mail.ru).

She says she «terribly dislikes» injections. Since turning 35 she has seen a cosmetologist more often and prefers device-based treatments, above all lasers (Source: Lady Mail.ru).

Laser skin resurfacing removes damaged skin one layer at a time and heats the deeper layers to stimulate new collagen; it is used for wrinkles around the eyes and mouth, acne scars and sun-damaged skin (Source: ASPS).

Glukoza (Natalia Ionova) became famous with «Shuga» (2002), «Nevesta» (2003, Golden Gramophone) and «Tantsuy, Rossiya!!!» (2008); in 2025 she released the album «HARMONY» and the EP «ECHOES» (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Most Beautiful Russian Actress Without Surgery: Surgery Signs and Skin Care

Svetlana Khodchenkova is often named among the most beautiful Russian actresses with no obvious signs of surgery. Plastic surgeon Yuri Dikov compared her photos and noted that her brow line, eye shape, eyelids, cheekbones and nose look unchanged, linking the changes in her appearance to weight loss. The actress herself has not commented (Source: Lady Mail.ru).

Svetlana Khodchenkova, official portrait, 2017.
📷 Source: Wikimedia Commons (Monksu, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Dermatologists secrets for younger-looking skin without surgery are simple: daily broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, no smoking or tanning beds, gentle cleansing and a daily moisturiser (Source: AAD).

Khodchenkova debuted in Stanislav Govorukhins «Bless the Woman» (2003), appeared in «Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy» (2011) and «The Wolverine» (2013), won a Golden Eagle for «Dovlatov», and in 2026 starred in the series «Bolshaya farma» (Source: Wikipedia (ru)).

Appearance Bullying and Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Screening Before Surgery

Comments on appearance hurt more than they seem to. Almost every woman in this article has faced bullying: Dolina was accused of a «new face» because of a filter, Buzova was «diagnosed» from photos, and Lolitas chin was criticised in public (Sources: Vokrug TV, Vokrug TV, Lady Mail.ru).

Constant judgement of looks is linked to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a condition in which a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance that others often cannot see. It can be treated, for example with cognitive behavioural therapy (Source: NHS).

BDD affects about 18.6% of plastic surgery patients (a meta-analysis of 65 studies and 17,107 patients), which is why the authors recommend screening before surgery (Source: Kaleeny & Janis, 2024).

Demand for aesthetic medicine is growing worldwide: almost 38 million procedures were performed in 2024, and botulinum toxin was the most common non-surgical treatment (Source: ISAPS).

How Long Do Results Last, and What Do These Procedures Cost?

How long results last varies widely, from a few months for injections to many years for surgery. Here are the key numbers for the procedures the stars talked about.

• Botulinum toxin: the effect lasts about three to four months; the average US fee is $435 (approx. £330) per treatment (Sources: ASPS, ASPS).
• Fillers: how long they last depends on the material and the area; hyaluronic acid fillers average $715 (approx. £540) in the US (Sources: FDA, ASPS).
• Eyelid surgery: on average $3,359 (approx. £2,500) for the upper and $3,876 (approx. £2,900) for the lower lids in the US, before anaesthesia and facility fees (Source: ASPS).
• Rhinoplasty: on average $7,637 (approx. £5,700) in the US, before anaesthesia and facility fees (Source: ASPS).
• Facelift: on average $11,395 (approx. £8,600) in the US, before anaesthesia and facility fees (Source: ASPS).
• Breast augmentation: on average $4,875 (approx. £3,700) in the US for implants (Source: ASPS).

Through International Clinics in Istanbul, rhinoplasty costs from $2,500 (approx. £1,900) for a primary operation to $4,500 (approx. £3,400) for a complex revision (see rhinoplasty costs in Istanbul), a mini facelift in Turkey starts at $2,500 (approx. £1,900), and breast augmentation costs $4,400 (approx. £3,300) with Arion implants or $5,200 (approx. £3,900) with Motiva implants.

Plastic Surgery Safety: Checking the Drug, the Surgeon and Recovery Rules

The stories of Uspenskaya and Dubtsova show that an operation can go wrong even for stars with money and connections. Check a few things before any procedure.

• The drug. Botulinum toxins are medicines; in Russia their registration can be checked by trade name or international non-proprietary name in the state register of medicines (Source: Russian Ministry of Health register).
• The device. Medical devices and their manufacturers are listed in the Roszdravnadzor register (Source: Roszdravnadzor).
• Where injections are given. The WHO stresses that botulinum toxin procedures are carried out in medical facilities; they are usually well tolerated, but rare adverse reactions occur (Source: WHO).
• Never buy fillers online, as they may be counterfeit; an accidental injection into a blood vessel can cause tissue death, blindness and stroke (Source: FDA).
• Botox side effects are usually temporary, such as a drooping eyelid or brow; do not rub the injected area, so the toxin does not spread (Source: ASPS).
• Follow the recovery rules. Lolitas tour ten days after surgery shows why doctors ask for no strenuous activity for at least two weeks (Source: NHS).

To see what revision work involves, read our guide to revision rhinoplasty, and for the signs surgeons look for, see how to tell if someone has had a facelift.

More Guides: Celebrity Eyelid Surgery, Facelifts and Cosmetic Procedures

This article is part of our series on famous actresses of each country and their cosmetic surgery. Read about Arab actresses and plastic surgery, French actresses, Spanish actresses, Italian actresses, Iranian actresses and Hollywood actresses, and compare celebrity results in our celebrity blepharoplasty before and after and famous facelift before and after guides.

Considering Plastic Surgery? Choosing a Surgeon and Clinic

These stars teach one main lesson: a decision about surgery should be calm and well considered, and the surgeon should be verified. International Clinics is neither a treatment centre nor a hospital broker but the link between you and the right treatment: we selected experienced plastic surgeons and reputable hospitals, contracted with them against high standards of medical quality, and prepare a treatment plan tailored to each patient.

We are a licensed company with international partners, expanding our hospital contracts across several countries, starting with the UAE. To learn more, read our guides to blepharoplasty in Turkey, dermal fillers, rhinoplasty before and after and breast implant removal.