The famous bard, Sergei Nikitin, made a statement that he is very glad that Julius Kim was given the Bulat Okudzhava Award for 1999.

In his interview with RIA News, Nikitin said that, in his opinion, "Kim is an artists of the Pushkin tradition. In his works, he accomplishes, with seeming ease and piercing results, a rather serious thing: upholding the traditions of the Russian language." It is true, Kim's language is based on that of the 19th Century, but that seeming ease in his poetry and lyrics is the result of very hard work, very strict self-criticism, and understanding of the literary material. "Kim's songs evoke feelings of flight in the listener," Nikitin believes. "It would be difficult to find a more Russian poet than Kim among contemporary bards."