[1][2][3] A former soldier of the Red Army, he also fought in the Second World War, where he was captured by the Wehrmacht, during the Battle of Uman.

[1] During the Great Patriotic War, he was drafted to the Red Army in April 1941, to fight as a private machine gunner.

After his release by the enemy, he was tested by the Soviet counter-intelligence agency, SMERSH, and was ultimately cleared and let go.

[6] As it was known that he had been a prisoner during the war, Lebedev was banned from acting at the Moscow Art Theatre, despite both parties agreeing to it at first.

Yuri Zavadsky introduced him to the Mossovet Theater instead, where Lebedev ultimately acted for more than 60 years.