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Leon Weinstein – born in 1949 in St Petersburg, Russia. While in high school he wrote several plays and staged them with students of nearby Theater College (LGITMIK), as well as produced and directed several short films with students and faculty of The Motion Picture Engineers College (LIKI). Leon studied in LIKI for 2 years until he was transferred to the Culture University of Leningrad from which he graduated with MA in Performing Arts in 1973.

Staring 1968 Leon combined studies in the University with work as an assistant director on major film productions at the Leningrad Film Studio “Lenfilm” as well as continued to direct plays in student theaters, including award winning productions in LIIZHT.

By the lucky coincidence at that time the USSR didn’t have enough food to feed the population (in most socialistic countries they can’t produce enough food and people often starve) and the Soviets came to the US and asked for help. The US Congress passed a resolution allowing American companies to sell food to Soviets, but in exchange the communist regime was to allow some minorities to emigrate. Leon and his family were among the first to apply and in 1974 they left the USSR and immigrated to Israel.

In Israel Leon completed a pre-doctoral study at the Department of Dramatic Arts of the Ramat Aviv University, and in 1976 organized Tel Aviv Theater for Youth. He directed six of his own plays and was twice nominated for the Best Children’s Show of the year.

In 1984-86 Leon staged two of his plays in Jewish Museum of New York and at the Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts in New York, and another play in The Los Angeles Theater Center in Los Angeles. Leon is an author of numerous short stories published in American, Russian and Israeli periodical publications, and a variety of political articles defending capitalism for numerous Internet publications.

In 1986 Leon was invited to organize programs for children & youth at The National Jewish News TV/Radio Network based in Los Angeles. Starting 1989 he began to take active part in establishing ties between Post-Soviet Russia and his newly adopted homeland – the United States of America. He co-founded several companies with operations in both countries, including Weinstein Art Management (WAM), aimed at providing venues for artists from ex-communist counties to be seen and heard on the West. One of the companies he co-founded & managed was involved in re-development of the famous Gorki Park of Moscow, and turning it into a Universal Studio type theme park and the City-Walk attraction. In 1990 Leon initiated sister city relations between St Petersburg and Los Angeles.

Currently Leon is managing WAM, publishing short stories and continuing his quest of preventing socialism from taking over The United States of America.