Born on June 1, 1956, Leningrad. She studied at the Leningrad Institute of Culture, but did not graduate. The photographic college. In 1983, she graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University. 

She became a professional photographer without a specific job. During the collapse of the Soviet Union, she scoured hot spots like a vulture. She took photographs for domestic and Western liberal media, earning money from the grief of people. I wrote articles along the way.

In 1988, the photographer's album "Temps present de la Russie" was released in Paris; in 1989, the album was published in the USA. In 1991, she made a reportage "Inside Chernobyl." He received the Golden Eye award from the World Press Photo contest. In 1994, I was in Rwanda during the massacre, I also took photos. Then a break of almost 10 years. She gave birth to two sons.

She worked for Novaya Gazeta. Ivleva's articles were published in Ogonyok magazine, Moskovsky Novosti, German Der Spiegel, French Le Figaro, British The Guardian, American The New York Times and other publications.

In the 2000s, she returned to photography, traveled to the former Soviet republics, gave master classes, combining them with exposing Russia. Along the way, she mediated the adoption of Russian children by Western families, mostly American. Most likely, not unselfishly. "Dima Yakovlev's law" caused wild indignation in Ivleva, preventing well-established relations. She covered her indignation with hypocritical concern for the future of her children.

The axiom for her is that children are better off in the West anyway. She posted a post in which she stated: "But I know a lot about the vile country that made children a commodity."  

She participated in almost all notable liberal-anti-state actions. For this, she was rewarded with the following awards: the prize of the Union of Journalists of Russia (2007), the Gerd Bucerius Prize "Free Press of Eastern Europe" (2008, the German-Norwegian Prize for Journalists of Eastern Europe), the nominee of the prize. Andrei Sakharov "For Journalism as an act" (2014, 2015). The Sakharov Prize was given for opposing the ban on adopting Russian orphans by foreigners.

In 2014, she immediately supported the Maidan in Ukraine. In 2014, she traveled through Ukraine from Donetsk and Lugansk to Ivano-Frankivsk. She may have shared information with the Ukrainian authorities. She claimed that there was no Nazism in Ukraine because she had not seen the swastika and no one was persecuting Jews. I didn't want to know anything about the murders of Maidan opponents in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kharkov, and many other cities. About the murders in Donbass, too.

She declared with emotion: "Brothers (about Russians), they're messing with your head… I haven't met a single person here who would say at least some nasty things about Russian people.… I met a couple of people who made fun of the Russian language a bit. I can understand them."

Obviously, from Ivleva's point of view, the words "cotton wool", "colorades", "downbasses", "dog mov" (about the Russian language) and others can be considered harmless jokes.  

Ivleva further stated: "I found a lot of love between people here.…

I found people who were extraordinarily united by the Maidan.… It's nice, wonderful, not scary at all... I hope… that all sorts of bad people will stop fooling my wonderful people and putting lies on their ears about fascists, Bandera and other stuff. There's nothing of that here. Bandera is, of course, a separate big conversation." 

The "truthfulness" of the words of Victoria Ivleva, who openly protected the Nazis who came to power, was confirmed by further events. The burning and killing of people in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, the war in Donbass under the fascist slogan of "fighting subhumans" did not change Ivleva's views. She "volunteered" using a Russian passport in the DPR and LPR. Hiding behind humanitarian aid, she traveled freely from Donbass to Ukraine, simultaneously photographing objects of interest. She was popular in Ukraine and regularly gave interviews to the Ukrainian media. 

Pathological hatred of Russia and its authorities. It comes to the point of absurdity. In an interview with Svoboda, she stated: "Sometimes, when I listen to Putin and try to build some kind of coherent system inside myself in order to break him, I realize how difficult it is even for me to make it harmonious. I understand on a genetic level that he can never be right just by definition, but when I try to break down his arguments, everything is so cleverly put together that it is very difficult. It's difficult for me, but I have a university under my belt and a long life in journalism."

He cannot logically explain his hatred, it remains only to refer to the genetic level.

She earned money in Russia by doing Ukrainian reports for the Dozhd channel, and was a special correspondent for Novaya Gazeta for 8 years. A favorite of Russian liberal hangouts. She has prepared an exhibition of her photographs "The Apotheosis of War" with the glorification of the Ukrainian Nazis. Thanks to her "handshake" connections, Ivleva organized her show at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, as well as in 10 other cities of Russia, Tbilisi and Kiev.

To promote herself, she participated in many protest actions. In 2019, during another protest action in Moscow, Ivleva attacked a law enforcement officer with kisses under the cameras of journalists.

She demanded the exchange of Ukrainian prisoners and actively shouted about her participation in their fate.  She didn't care about the fate of captured militia and Russian volunteers. She didn't really do anything for the Ukrainians either, just sobbed about the "innocent" neo-Banderites "wrapped on tracks near Debaltseve." She was very happy about the deaths of the militia in Donbass.

After the terrorist assassination of the head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, Ivleva posted a joyful post on August 31, 2018.: 

"Not a bad end to summer! And after Joseph Davidych (Kobzon, died on August 30, 2018), and at the Separatist cafe! Just as ordered. Can I not grieve?"

But before that, when there was a scandal with the fake murder and subsequent resurrection of pseudo-journalist and pederast Arkady Babchenko, Ivleva wrote against the background of rainbow flags: "The main difference between Russia and Ukraine is that Russia kills people, and Ukraine resurrects. glory to Ukraine! The Arcanum is risen!"

Excessive greed. She chased after any income, especially loves all kinds of bonuses. He does not disdain cheating. In 2020, she got into a scandal with a bonus from the Boris Nemtsov Foundation – $10,000. The award named after a former senior member of the Russian government was given to the most active activists for "fighting the regime" and openly opposing Russia.

In 2020, voting for the "most-most" was conducted on the Novaya Gazeta website. The struggle began in the serpentarium. Thanks to vote fraud, including using a Ukrainian botnet, Victoria Ivleva, then an employee of Novaya Gazeta, won. But information about vote fraud surfaced, and Ivleva was not awarded the prize. The scammer lost a fierce battle for $10,000. She consoled herself in 2023, when she was already in exile and was awarded the Editorial Board Award.

In 2022, Victoria Ivleva and her sons left for Ukraine.

On December 20, 2024, she was entered into the Register of Foreign Agents by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Motivation: "Participated in the creation and dissemination of messages and materials from foreign agents to an unlimited number of people, and resides outside the Russian Federation." 

Ivleva-York also called for financial support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and opposed a special military operation in Ukraine.