Accused of "open and deliberate contempt for generally accepted moral norms"; "malicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence"; "inflaming social, national, and religious division"; "propaganda of brutal violence, psychic pathology, and sexual perversions" – he came under harassment and a continuous criminal investigation.

[citation needed] Forced to leave Russia, Mogutin was granted political asylum in the US with the support of Amnesty International and PEN American Center.

Since 1999, his photography has been exhibited internationally and featured in a wide range of publications including The New York Times, The Village Voice, i-D, Visionaire, L'Uomo Vogue, Secret Behavior, and BUTT.

He appeared as an actor in Bruce LaBruce's agitprop porn movie Skin Flick (1999)[6] and Laura Colella's independent feature Stay Until Tomorrow (2004).

[1] In 2004, together with his partner-collaborator Brian Kenny, he co-founded SUPERM, a multimedia art team responsible for site-specific gallery and museum shows in New York City, Los Angeles, Moscow, Berlin, London, Oslo, Bergen, Haifa, and León, Spain.