Place of Birth & Education. She was born in the city of Ivdel, Sverdlovsk region (Russia). In 1974 she graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Taras Shevchenko Kiev State University. Later – graduate school of the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. Ph.D. in Philosophy.
Career. Sociologist, specialist in the field of political and electoral sociology.
She worked as a scientific editor of the journal Philosophical Thought, as a junior and senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.
Since 1991 – Research Fellow at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Since 1996 – Deputy Director of the Democratic Initiatives Foundation (Kiev), since 2001 – Scientific Director of the Foundation. Scientific editor of the Bulletin Political Portrait of Ukraine, published by the Foundation.
Since 2010 – Director of the Fund for Democratic Initiatives named after Ilka Kucheriva (after the death of the founder of the head of the foundation Ilka Kucheriva).
Member of the rating “100 Most Influential Women of Ukraine” according to the Focus magazine in 2007 and 2008. According to the publication, the influence is due to awareness, competence, extensive connections in Ukrainian and foreign public organizations, the media, and political circles.
Author of over 100 scientific works and a large number of journalistic publications.
Family. Single.
Death. On March 21, 2024, Irina Bekeshkina died at the age of 69.