 The situation escalated further when Mogutin attempted to register for the first same-sex marriage in Russian history with his partner at the time Robert Filippini.This led him to become the target of two highly publicized criminal cases, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to 7 years.The criminal cases were initiated after his publications in "Novy Vzglyad" – scandalous political independent newspaper headed at the time by Yevgeny Dodolev.