Inna Shevchenko
Ukrainian feminist leader of FEMEN, topless activist.
Inna Shevchenko is a Ukrainian feminist activist who leads the international women's movement FEMEN. The group is known for staging topless protests against what it sees as signs of patriarchy, including dictatorship, religion, and the sex industry. Shevchenko is more prominent than other FEMEN members. In 2011, she was reportedly the leader of three activists kidnapped and threatened by the Belarus KGB. She gained attention in Ukraine in 2012 when she used a chainsaw to cut down a four-meter-high Christian cross in central Kyiv. She received asylum in France in 2013 and continues her activism there, running FEMEN France from a training base she set up in Paris.
Shevchenko was born on 23 June 1990 in Kherson, near the Black Sea. She has described her childhood as typical for a Ukrainian girl, raised not to shout or argue. She was a tomboy and close to her father, a military officer, and has an older sister. The 2004 Orange Revolution sparked her interest in politics; watching TV debates, she noticed journalists seemed smarter than politicians and decided she wanted to become one. She studied journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv from 2008 to 2012, graduating with honors. Her work as a student government leader gave her political connections, and in 2009 she got a job in the Kyiv Mayor’s press office. Her first language is Russian, and she is also fluent in Ukrainian, English, and French.
Shevchenko joined FEMEN in early 2009 after contacting founders Anna Hutsol and Alexandra Shevchenko (no relation) on the social network vKontakte. The group had formed in Kyiv on 10 April 2008, initially protesting issues affecting female students before shifting focus to the sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women. Shevchenko’s first protest with FEMEN was on 23 May 2009 in Kyiv, against prostitution, under the banner “Ukraine is not a Brothel.” In late August 2009, Oksana Shachko became the first member to bare her breasts during a protest, but toplessness became standard only in 2010, justified as necessary to get media attention. Shevchenko initially opposed the tactic but was later convinced. She lost her job at the Kyiv Mayor’s press office after being arrested in December 2010 for protesting the lack of women in Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s cabinet.
In September 2012, Shevchenko cut down wooden crosses at the GOGBOT festival in Enschede, the Netherlands, to protest the arrest of Pussy Riot, following her chainsaw action in Kyiv. Later that month, she set up a training facility for FEMEN France in Paris. In October 2012, during a live Al Jazeera interview, she was asked whether nudity or the paranja was better for women; she responded by removing her T-shirt to protest “medieval prejudices,” and the broadcast was cut. She received asylum in France in July 2013. That same month, Olivier Ciappa, who co-designed a new French stamp of Marianne, tweeted that Shevchenko was the main inspiration for the image. Shevchenko tweeted in response that “all homophobes, extremists, fascists will have to lick my arse when they want to send a letter.” In December 2012, *Madame Figaro* included her in its list of the world’s top 20 iconic women of the year.
Shevchenko speaks at conferences and writes columns for international media. On 14 February 2015, she was a speaker at a debate on freedom of speech in Copenhagen with cartoonist Lars Vilks when a terrorist opened fire in the cultural center’s lobby. Her TEDxKalamata talk is titled “I will not stop speaking out loud.” She writes for the *International Business Times*, and her articles have appeared in *The Guardian*, *The Huffington Post*, and CNN. With other FEMEN activists, she co-wrote *FEMEN: Manifeste* and *Rebellion*. In 2017, she published *Anatomie de l’oppression* with Pauline Hillier. In 2025, she authored *A Letter from the East*, a novel based on testimonies from Ukrainian women who survived Russian captivity, exploring the horrors of the war in Ukraine. It won the 2025 Prix des Femmes de Lettres.
- born
- 23 June 1990, Kherson, Ukraine
- field
- Activism, journalism, writing
- nationality
- Ukrainian
- known_for
- Leader of FEMEN, topless protests, cross-cutting action, asylum in France
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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.
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