Leonid Leonidov (born Wolfenzon) was a Soviet actor, theatre director, and educator, and a People's Artist of the USSR. Born in Odessa, he became involved in amateur theatre productions at an early age. From 1896 to 1901, he performed with Nikolai Solovtsov's theatre company in Kyiv and Odessa before joining the Korsh Theatre in Moscow. In 1903, Leonidov became a member of the Moscow Art Theatre company, where he spent much of his subsequent artistic career. His notable roles included Vaska Pepel in "The Lower Depths", Lopakhin in "The Cherry Orchard", Dmitry Karamazov in "The Brothers Karamazov", Peer Gynt in Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name, Othello in Shakespeare's tragedy, and Plyushkin in "Dead Souls". Alongside his acting career, Leonidov worked as a theatre director. At the Moscow Art Theatre, he co-directed productions of "The Land" (1937) and "Dostigaev and Others" (1938). He was also active in cinema and taught acting. In 1935, he became Dean of the Acting Faculty at GITIS (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), and in 1939, he was appointed Artistic Director of the institute. That same year, he was awarded the titles of Professor and Doctor of Art Studies. The collection of the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum includes photographs and letters of Leonid Leonidov, as well as playbills and programmes from productions in which he performed or worked as a director.