Natalia Yakovenko

Natalia Mykolaivna Yakovenko (; born 1942) is a Ukrainian historian and professor, known for her expertise in Latin linguistics and her contributions to the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Yakovenko's promotion of Ukrainian szlachta as a genuine part of the country's historical narrative had a significant influence on historical studies in Ukraine following the country's independence.

Education and research career Born in , a village in central Ukraine, Yakovenko graduated with a degree in classics from the University of Lviv in 1967. Following her graduation, she joined the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine as a researcher. Her academic career progressed when she became a lecturer at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in 1981.

In 1987, Yakovenko took a senior research position at the Institute of History of Ukraine under the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU). Four years later, in 1991, she was appointed chair of the NASU Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and Source Studies. She earned her doctorate in historical sciences in 1994 and became chair of the NASU Department of History in 1995.

Since 1992, Yakovenko has served as a professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her research focuses on the paleography of Latin-language documents in Ukraine and the history of the Ukrainian gentry.

Yakovenko was a member of the first senate of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) from 2002 to 2005. In 2020, the UCU awarded her the title of Doctor honoris causa, the highest honor the university confers, in recognition of her contributions to education, culture, art, and ministry.

On 15 July 2026 Yakovenko was awarded the Order of Liberty by president Volodymyr Zelensky.