Unwavering in his political views, in the late 1990s the artist refused a state award bestowed upon him by the government of the
Russian Federation, and Korzhev wrote of his motives: I was born in the Soviet Union and sincerely believed in the ideas and ideals of the time. Today, they are considered a historical mistake. Now Russia has a social system directly opposite to the one under which I, as an artist, was brought up. The acceptance of a state award would be equal to a confession of my hypocrisy throughout my artistic career. I request that you consider my refusal with due understanding. ==Death==