Kirov Forestry Academy, and participated in amateur musical and theatrical productions, including student ensembles that wrote and performed their own songs written in English in the style of Louis Armstrong.

Fuchs had the idea of producing the novice's first album in the form of a refined hoax, specifically a non-existent radio program, which was allegedly broadcast on the Soviet airwaves.

[citation needed] In 1968, Severny was discharged from the Soviet Army, where he had served as lieutenant for a year in a helicopter regiment not far from Leningrad.

Severny performed his songs throughout an entire evening at Maklakov's residence, resulting in 500 meters of recordings on the now outdated reel-to-reel tape recorder that were quickly disseminated throughout the entire Soviet Union and eventually gave rise to the popularity of the performer's prison songs.

It was with great pleasure that music lovers all over the country listened to the singer's slightly hoarse voice performing such revived songs as Roast Chicken, School of Ballet Dance, I Lived in Noisy Odessa, Mother, I’m In Love With A Pilot, Tram #10 Passed By, and many others.

[citation needed] On 12 April 1980, Severny died from a massive intracerebral hemorrhage while staying at a friend's house in Leningrad.

[citation needed] Severny managed to combine and concentrate practically the entire international lexicon of the "prison song" genre.

Because Severny was not recognized by the authorities as a singer, he became a cult figure in the Soviet Union, with the population clamouring to get recordings of his underground concerts.