Leonid Maximovich Leonov (Russian: ??????? ??????????? ???????; May 31 [O.S. May 19] 1899 — 8 August 1994) was a Soviet novelist and playwright. He has been dubbed the 20th-century Dostoyevsky for the deep psychological torment of his prose.
A writer his whole life, Leonov published poetry and theater reviews while still in school. In 1918, he joined his father, Maksim Lvovich Leonov, who was arrested in 1908 on charges of subversion, in Arkhangelsk where the latter had been exiled. He was involved in Soviet operations during WWI in the Red Army, but by the time of World War II, he was an established journalist and novelist. His crime novels dealt with themes of good and evil, set against a backdrop of 20th century Soviet history.