Yana Zhdanova

Iana Aleksandrovna Zhdanova Яна Александровна Жданова
Zhdanova at the Maidan Square in Kiev, on the first of August 2013.
Born	(1988-02-28) 28 February 1988 (age 29) Makiivka, Ukrainian Former Republic of USSR.
Alma mater	University of Culture and Arts, Kiev, Ukraine.
Occupation	Feminist, social activist.
Years active	2009–present

Iana (Yana) Zhdanova (Ukrainian: Яна Жданова), born on (1988-02-28)February 28, 1988 is a Ukrainian feminist and social activist who since the 2000s has been a leading member of the feminist protest group FEMEN. The movement became known for organizing controversial bare-breasted protests against inequality between men and women, prostitution, sex industry, dictatorship, homophobia and other political and social problems.

Zhdanova was born in Makiivka, at that time under Soviet rule. After attending schools in Makiivka and Donetsk, she attended the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts in Kiev. She graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree, and in 2010 received a Master's degree in History of Culture. From 2009 to 2012 she worked as a dancer in small theatres and nightclubs in Kiev, while art, like literature and architecture, remains a precious component of her life.

In 2008 Zhdanova was working as a correspondent for the daily national Ukrainian newspaper Life. At that time she started participating in feminist activism with Alexandra Shevchenko. Zhdanova's first public protest with Femen took place on 22 March 2009 targeting Ukrainian writer Oles Buzina, due to conflict of opinion on his 2009 book publication in fiction category. The author is asserting in this book that women's real place is in a harem, like in old times.

On 23 May 2009 Zhdanova, along with Alexandra (Sasha) Shevchenko, Oksana Shachko and Inna Shevchenko, took part in a protest in Kiev with the slogan "Ukraine is not a brothel" because according to their perception an increasing number of young Ukrainian women were earning money through sex tourism and prostitution.