[2] Naumenko is considered one of the best lyricists of Russian rock, although drawing heavily on Bob Dylan and other UK/US songwriters, and occasionally retaining the original melody as well.

Some of Naumenko's songs are more or less faithful translations or remakes of English language source material (the notions of copyright and plagiarism being hardly established in the Soviet Union, especially as regards works created on the other side of the Iron Curtain).

Largely imitative, Naumenko's input was yet very significant as he adapted the Western rock tradition to Russian culture and the urban realities of Leningrad.

The first rock bands that attracted his attention were The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jefferson Airplane; also he collected magazine articles about T. Rex, The Doors and David Bowie.

[7][8] After he graduated from high school, having followed an advice from his father, Mike went to Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, but during his 4th year of study he lost interest in the subject and dropped out.

[9] Naumenko started his musical career in little-known Leningrad rock bands, such as "Soyuz Lyubiteley Muzyki Rock" ("Union of Lovers of Rock-Music", Russian: "Союз любителей музыки рок") and "Vokalno-instrumentalnaya gruppirovka imeni Chacka Berry" ("Vocal-instrumental Band Named in Honor of Chuck Berry", Russian: "Вокально-инструментальная группировка им.

In the summer of 1978, Naumenko and Boris Grebenshchikov (the leader of Aquarium) recorded an acoustic album "Vse brat'ya – sestry" ("All Brothers are Sisters", Russian: "Все братья – сестры").

[10] Two years later, in the summer of 1980, Mike recorded his first solo album called "Sladkaya N i Drugie" ("Sweet N and Others", Russian: "Сладкая N и другие") with the help of Boris Grebenshchikov and Vyacheslav Zorin (guitar).

[11] Naumenko's lyrical muse has been identified as the Leningrad artist Tatyana Apraksina, as reflected in songs such as "Sweet N," "If It Rains," "Your River's Blues" and "Morning for Two".

Sometimes he left the original melody intact too, e.g., one could compare "Zolotie Lvi" ("Golden Lions", "Золотые львы") and "Pozvoni mne rano utrom" ("Call Me Early in the Morning", "Позвони мне рано утром") with Dylan's "Idiot Wind" and "Meet Me in the Morning"; or "Ya lublu bugi-vugi" ("I love Boogie-Woogie", "Я люблю буги-вуги") with "I Love to Boogie".