[1][2] Born in Tripoli, Syria (now Lebanon) where his father taught at the Russian consulate, he began writing as a newspaper correspondent (in Uzbek) for the Pravda Vostoka, published in Tashkent.

[citation needed] His first book was Lenin in Eastern Folk Art (Moscow, 1930), which he described as "a volume of Central Asian post-revolutionary folklore."

[citation needed] Both volumes were translated into English, the first appearing in the United States as Disturber of the Peace (1940), reprinted in 1956 as The Beggar in the Harem.

The book was translated into Hebrew and adapted as a very successful play in presented by the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, and revived on several later occasions.

[5][6] The satirical song "In Beautiful Bokahara" (בבוכרה היפה), derived from the play, gained a life of its own, being performed by various well-known Israeli singers such as Arik Lavi and Nissim Garameh[7][8] Leonid Solovyov also wrote many screenplays including one based on Nikolai Gogol's story "The Overcoat".