Biography and information
(March, 1904, the village of Malaya Serdoba. Petrovsky uyezd, Saratov province - July 1981), public figure, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of arts (1958). The son of a peasant. Educated at the Institute of red professors (1934). From 1920 he worked in the oil fields in Baku, then in the engineering plant, apprentice Turner. In 1924 he joined the RCP(b). In 1925-26 head. the Department of agitation and propaganda of the Baku factory of the district.Komsomol, in 1926-27 Deputy head. propaganda Department of the party Committee. In 1934-39 head. Department of literature in publishing houses "Izogiz" and "Art". From 1939 a Deputy Director, in 1940-41, the Director of the Tretyakov gallery. With Feb. 1941 Deputy head. the Department of cultural and educational institutions of Department of propaganda and agitation of the Central Committee of the CPSU(6), from may 1945 to February. 1948 head. the Department of arts of the same management. Held the party line in literature, theatre, cinema, etc. 26.1.1948 assigned before. Committee on Affairs of arts at Council of Ministers of the USSR. After performances at the Bolshoi theater Opera "all my heart" that caused discontent of Stalin, Lebedev 24.4.1951 was removed from his post for "poor stewardship of the Committee." In 1951-53, senior scientific editor of the scientific-reference edition of the Great Soviet encyclopedia. From July 1953 Deputy Director, Feb. 1954 the Director of the Tretyakov gallery. In 1958-60 at the same time chief editor of the magazine "Artist", and in 1963-73 Secretary of the Union of artists of the USSR. In March 1979 he retired.
(Used materials from the book: K. A. Zalessky, Stalin's Empire. Biographical encyclopedic dictionary. Moscow, Veche, 2000)
