[1] Around 1922 Kaplan came to Leningrad (then named Petrograd), where he was to base his career for the rest of his life, although he often revisited the towns of his childhood.

His lithograph cycle of Landscapes of Leningrad during the Days of the Blockade (1948) was widely acclaimed in Russia and was purchased by eighteen State galleries.

At one time Kaplan was supervisor of design in a glassware factory and this gave him an interest in the third dimension which was later to blossom in his ceramics and sculptures.

From the 1950s onwards Kaplan's artworks concentrated on Jewish themes, despite constant and often serious opposition and obstruction from the Soviet cultural authorities.

From 1967 onward he began also to produce ceramics and sculptures, including a set based on the characters of Gogol's Dead Souls.