| Honorific Suffix: | PAR |
| Leonid Yakubovich | |
| Birth Name: | Leonid Arkadyevich Yakubovich |
| Birth Date: | 31 July 1945 |
| Birth Place: | Moscow, RSFSR, USSR |
| Citizenship: | Soviet Union Russia |
| Yearsactive: | 1979–present |
| Height: | 1.68 m |
| People's Artist of Russia (2002) | |
| Awards: | Order of Friendship[1] |
Leonid Arkadyevich Yakubovich PAR[2] (ru|Леонид Аркадьевич Якубович, born 31 July 1945) is a Russian actor and television host, best known for hosting the game show Pole Chudes (the Russian version of the Wheel of Fortune – literally, The Field of Wonders – and the celebrity episode of Slaboye Zveno).[3] Yakubovich is one of the best-known television and internet personalities in Russia. In January 2023, Ukraine imposed economic sanctions on Leonid Yakubovich for his support of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4]
Yakubovich was born in Moscow into a Soviet Jewish family. His father was born in Belarus.[5] In his youth, Yakubovich sought a practical profession, and studied metal craftsmanship. After finishing his education, he went to work at ZIL as a heat-gas technician. In college, Yakubovich started performing in the Russian KVN show.
In the 1980s he became a freelance satire writer and actor, and even played in the Russian children's "film-magazine" Yeralash. Even so, Yakubovich was not considered experienced enough for regular work in television until in 1991 he accepted Vladislav Listyev's proposal to host Pole Chudes. Listyev was previously a mentor to Yakubovich, and helped sharpen his acting skills, among others.