[5] He was separately reported to have met Vyacheslav Dukhin, a senior Russian government official, weeks before the invasion.

After he graduated in 1982, Lebedev began working at the Institute of Economics of the World Socialist System doing research for his Kandidat (between master's degree and doctorate) dissertation, The problems of debt and the challenges of globalization.

According to The Sunday Times, as a KGB scout, he was based at the Soviet embassy in London from 1988, bringing his son, Evgeny Lebedev, with him.

[1] According to a report presented by the Italian External Intelligence and Security Agency to the parliamentary oversight committee (Copasir), Lebedev's resignation from the FSB might have been fictitious and he "continued to participate in annual KGB meetings".

The previous owners, the Daily Mail and General Trust, continue to hold 24.9% in the company in the new firm, named Evening Standard Ltd. Lebedev promised not to interfere with the editorial running of the paper.

[17] The offer was withdrawn after Liddle's putative appointment was opposed by the newspaper's staff and by an online campaign.

[24][25] In September 2011, while appearing on a Russian television programme, he punched a fellow guest, billionaire property developer Sergei Polonsky.

[1] Lebedev, together with the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, was a co-owner of Novaya Gazeta, one of the most vocal newspapers critical of the current Russian Government.

[30] Lebedev is a founder and the President of the National Investment Council, a non-political and non-government organization working to improve the investment sentiments in Russia, protecting interests of the Russian business abroad, and fighting the negative sentiments towards Russian business.

In March 2009, Lebedev announced that he would be running for mayor of Sochi, host of the 2014 Winter Olympics,[32] but a court ruling declared his candidacy invalid on 13 April 2009.

[33] The court ruling was a result of a complaint by another candidate, Vladimir Turukhanovsky, that Lebedev's campaign received three donations from minors that is forbidden by Russian electoral law.

[36] Lebedev was described by The New York Times as an oligarch as recently as 2020, when his son Evgeny was nominated for a life peerage by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

[37] Lebedev has a long history of supporting culture and charity, and created an organization named Charitable Reserve Fund (Благотворительный Резервный Фонд, BRF) to bring order to these activities.

Among the organizations and projects he (or BRF) have sponsored are:[1] Lebedev was awarded the Saint Innokenty of Moscow Order by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Dialogue of Cultures medal by UNESCO.

As a pro-Russia disinformation agent during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lebedev has been under sanctions by Canada since 8 July 2022.

[43][44] Lebedev holds lavish social events, with guests including Mick Jagger, Eddie Izzard, Ian McKellen, Keira Knightley, Joan Collins and Ralph Fiennes, and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,[45][46] former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.