Yulia Marushevska

Yulia Marushevska

• Ukrainian student who featured anonymously in a viral video entitled I Am A Ukrainian viewed by 8.9 million people
• After Ukraine’s Maiden riots studied at Stanford, New York, and London on an executive program in Global Leadership
• Chief of Odessa’s Regional Customs for 18 months, exposing corruption and money laundering on a massive scale

Yulia Marushevska was a Ukrainian student who achieved worldwide fame when a video of her asking for help during Ukraine’s Maiden riots went viral. Since 2014 Yulia has been studying, speaking and working in positions of leadership to influence geopolitical change.

The uprising in Ukraine officially broke out in early February 2014 when a group of pro-Western protesters took to the streets in the capital city of Kiev to protest against then-President Yanukovych and his support of a pro-Russian economic agenda. This was instead of an attempt by Ukraine to join the European Union and reduce the country’s reliance on Russian energy and economic support.

The groups were brutally repressed by the police the crowds reached over 20,000. Social media played a large part in garnering support to the extent that the police shut down the internet. During the protests which went on for weeks, the Ukrainian people took a stand against their government and succeeded in overthrowing Yanukovych, who in turn fled to Moscow.

Yulia Marushevska though not seeking it has gained celebrity status at home in Ukraine.  Such is the profound impact that she made promoting freedom and democracy in Ukraine met with international diplomats including France’s President Hollande and Peru and Georgia’s former leaders, Toledo and Saakashvili. She  appeared on on over 80 major news networks in 35 countries including interviews on CNN, the Charlie Rose Show and on the Voice of America.

After the Revolution, in 2014 Yulia went to Stanford University to study the tools for rebuilding the state. Upon returning to Ukraine she was invited to join the team of the reformers in the Ukrainian government. Starting as a deputy governor in the biggest region in Ukraine she was appointed a chief of Odessa regional customs — one of the most corrupted institutions in Ukraine at that time. For more than a year Yulia was implementing anti-corruption policies and with a strong international team cleaned up five seaports from the massive bribery.

This activity received attention among international media but also caused irritation from the Ukrainian political establishment. This forced Yulia who was pushed to resign. The General Prosecutor started legal cases against her. At one point while she was making a speech in Guatemala, the police were trying to conduct a search in her apartment in Kiev: Wall St Journal ‘A Ukrainian Reformer Gets A Visit From The Police, Changing the custom of corruption.

After all of these happenings, Yulia is pursuing her studies on an executive program in Global Leadership in New York and London going into deeper levels of global development issues.

She is writing a book from her memoirs that tells her story intimately without geopolitical details of the Revolution in Ukraine and the other international events that have occurred in her life.  Yulia is also embarking on a project called ‘Visionaries’ where she has deep and intelligent conversations with people who are shaping the future of our world; ‘conversations with inventors who create new things, comprehend the world and inspire the humanity.’

“As I started to familiarise with the global and economic situation, I realized that not only the politicians shape the picture of the world. And telling this story at the time of mosaic thinking in an insightful and deep manner may be interesting.”

Media

“I grew up as an ordinary, Western child. I grew up in a post-Soviet Union time. Now I am a student at a good Ukrainian university. There were no physical issues, but instead, more psychological issues. My grandparents asked me “why are you there,” and I answer them “How can I not be?”  – Yulia commenting in the Stanford Daily

“Ukraine is a young democracy that was born three months ago in the Euromaidan. Before that, we were only the facade of a democracy with Soviet officials [making the decisions]. People had to pay to open their business, had to pay to close their business … every step of the way. That was very humiliating,” Yulia commenting in Georgetown Universities, The Hoya,

Speaking

Yulia is a remarkable and confident speaker who communicates highly effectively with great passion and poise. Impressive whilst humble she is an incredible speaker who will appeal to audiences of all ages and size.

She gives keynotes at major global conferences and initiatives where she draws awareness to the political and economic situation in Ukraine. Equally she i, at ease giving talks that inspire younger generations to push for achievement, whether it be making life changing decisions, realising ambition or simply contributing to making the local environment a better place to live in.

Feedback from major conferences such as leading European technology conference Wired and the Oslo Freedom Forum put Yulia as the top rated and most memorable keynote speaker.

For all speaking and media related inquiries please contact Jonathan Curran at Promotivate Speakers Agency in London or use the form below.