In 1955, Popov performed abroad for the first time, in Warsaw, and the following year, he toured with the Moscow Circus in France, Belgium, and England.

At the 8th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo in 1981, he received the coveted Gold Clown award as a tribute to his stellar career.

[4] In the early 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, he toured with a unit of the Moscow Circus in Germany for a number of years, where he eventually settled.

[4] In December 2015 he was one of the judges at the final show of "The Blue Bird" contest—a young talent competition on the Russia-1 television channel.

[4] Popov appeared in four films, Ring of Daring (1953), Ma-ma (1976), The Blue Bird (1976), and Rytsar bez dospekhov (Poland, 1966).

He published a book of memoirs in 1967, which has been widely translated into numerous languages including English (as "Russian Clown", 1970).