Opposition was unusually unified: both those who had left Russia and those who remained spoke out against Bogomolov. Several leading figures left Russia or stopped working there, including Serebrennikov, Dmitry Krymov, Yuri Butusov, Mindaugas Karbauskis, Maxim Didenko, and Alexandr Molochnikov. Virtually all major contemporary writers—the most widely read and influential authors—spoke out against the war and left Russia. Many artists, especially younger rap and rock musicians, left Russia and openly opposed the war while much of the mainstream chose silence. In March 2022, he organized the only interview of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the independent Russian media.