Inna Shevchenko

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Lore & Background

Inna Shevchenko was born in Kherson near the Black Sea, on 23 June 1990. She had a childhood 'like that of all girls. I was brought up as a typical Ukrainian, Slavic girl, and was taught not to shout or argue'. She was a 'patsanka' (tomboy) and was especially close to her father who was a military officer. The 2004 Orange Revolution opened her eyes to politics. She went to university at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv from 2008 until 2012 where she studied journalism and graduated with honours. Her extracurricular activity as a leader of the student government gave her political connections that helped land her a job in 2009 working for the Mayor's press office in Kyiv. Shevchenko's first language is Russian, although she is also fluent in Ukrainian, English and French. She made contact with two leading FEMEN activists Anna Hutsol and Alexandra Shevchenko (no relation) through the social networking site vKontakte and joined FEMEN early in 2009. In debates within FEMEN over the ethics of topless protest, Inna Shevchenko at first opposed the tactic, then was persuaded of its validity. She was fired from her job in the Kyiv Mayor's press office after her arrest for taking part in a protest against the absence of women in Prime Minister Mykola Azarov's cabinet in December 2010. On 8 September 2012, Shevchenko cut down wooden crosses at GOGBOT festival in Enschede, the Netherlands, as a protest on the arrest of Pussy Riot, following her cross-chainsawing action in Kyiv in August. 26 October 2012, when Shevchenko was giving a live interview to Al Jazeera, she was asked, 'Which is better for women, nudity or the paranja?' She responded by taking off her T-shirt in protest at 'Medieval prejudices'. The live picture was immediately cut. In July 2013, Shevchenko was granted asylum in France. In July 2013, Olivier Ciappa, who together with David Kawena designed a new French stamp depicting Marianne, stated on Twitter that Shevchenko had been the main inspiration for the depiction. In 2025, she authored A Letter From The East (Une Lettre de l'Est), a novel that draws from the testimonies of dozens of Ukrainian women returned from Russian captivity exploring the horrors of the war in Ukraine. The novel was awarded the 2025 Prix des Femmes de Lettres.

Reader's Guide

Inna Shevchenko's significance lies in her role as the most visible leader of FEMEN, a group that uses topless protest as a tactic to challenge patriarchal structures, including dictatorship, religion, and the sex industry. Her actions, such as cutting down a 4-metre high Christian cross with a chainsaw in central Kyiv in 2012 and the Al Jazeera interview where she removed her T-shirt in protest against 'Medieval prejudices', have drawn global attention. Her asylum in France in 2013 highlights the risks activists face, and her continued leadership from Paris has sustained FEMEN's international presence. The 2025 novel 'A Letter From The East', awarded the 2025 Prix des Femmes de Lettres, extends her activism into literature, documenting the horrors of war in Ukraine. Shevchenko's legacy is tied to the controversial yet impactful use of nudity as a political tool, and her personal story—from a Ukrainian journalism student to a symbol of resistance—illustrates the intersection of feminism, free speech, and political dissent. Her inclusion as inspiration for the French Marianne stamp underscores her cultural influence, while her public speaking and writing amplify her message globally.

Did You Know?

• Shevchenko was fired from her job in the Kyiv Mayor's press office after her arrest for protesting the absence of women in Prime Minister Mykola Azarov's cabinet in December 2010.
• During a live Al Jazeera interview on 26 October 2012, she took off her T-shirt in protest when asked 'Which is better for women, nudity or the paranja?' — the live picture was immediately cut.
• In July 2013, Olivier Ciappa stated on Twitter that Shevchenko had been the main inspiration for the new French stamp depicting Marianne.
• Her first language is Russian, though she is also fluent in Ukrainian, English and French.
• She authored the novel 'A Letter From The East' in 2025, which won the 2025 Prix des Femmes de Lettres.