He was successful in his school theatre, imitating Charlie Chaplin, but was refused entry to the Leningrad Theater Institute due to poor pronunciation.

In 1967 Polunin joined the Mime Studio at Lensovet Palace of Culture led by Edward Rozinsky, a student of the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinema (where he also later taught[2]) at that time.

[citation needed] In 1987, Polunin organized the USSR Festival of Street Theatres (Всесоюзный Фестиваль Уличных Театров); more than 200 participants, including critics and children, lived on an uninhabited island in the Gulf of Finland and made short excursions by boat to the nearby city of Leningrad.

By 1988, Licedei had created five highly successful shows: Dreamers (Фантазёры), Eccentrics on the attic (Чурдаки), From the life of insects, Asisyai-revue and Catastrophe.

[citation needed] In 1989, Polunin organized The Caravan of Peace, in which mimes from different parts of the world were on the road for half a year giving street performances in many European cities.

Among the shows he organized were the highly successful Slava's Snowshow (Снежное шоу) which has been a hit in over 80 countries,[5] and Diabolo devoted to "comical meditation on life, death, and the beauty of the universe".