He was the director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and is a member of the Central Council of the Russia of the Future political party.

In 2014, he began working at the Anti-Corruption Foundation as a lawyer, and later was appointed head of the legal department of FBK.

Several times during the campaign he defended the head of Navalny's headquarters, Leonid Volkov, in court, who was brought to administrative responsibility for alleged "repeated violation of the order of organizing a public event.

[10] On 24 May 2018, he was detained in Moscow on suspicion of violating the rules of organizing or holding a rally, "He's Not our Tsar", on 5 May.

[14] On 27 October, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow fined Zhdanov 250 thousand rubles for participating in an online broadcast of actions against raising the retirement age [ru] on 9 September.

[21][22] He took part in single pickets for admitting independent candidates to the elections, for which he was also detained and released without drawing up a protocol on 22 July.

[28][29] On 2 August, the Moscow City Court recognized as legal the refusal to register Ivan Zhdanov as a candidate for the Moscow City Duma, despite the fact that the certificate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs contradicted the agreement between the CEC and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (the court decided that the agreement was of a recommendatory nature, and it was impossible to disclose personal data from the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs), as well as refused to consider confirmation of Muscovites that they really gave a signature for Zhdanov.

"[31] On 19 August, Zhdanov said: "Obviously and one hundred percent I will not be on the ballot paper for the Moscow City Duma elections in the 8th district (Sokol, Airport, Voikovsky, Koptevo)" and asked all his supporters in the district to support opposition candidate Darya Besedina.

[32] On 6 December, Ivan Zhdanov was detained for participating in a rally that took place on 14 July near the building of the Moscow City Electoral Commission.

141 of the Criminal Code "Obstruction of the exercise of electoral rights or the work of election commissions", as well as paragraph "b" of Part 4 of Art.

174 of the Criminal Code "Legalization (laundering) of funds or other property acquired by a person as a result of a crime".