A revolutionary activist from an early age, she became involved with Narodnik circles in Odesa, Kyiv and Kharkiv.

Maria Pavlivna Kovalevska (née Vorontsova) was born in August 1849, in the Katerynoslav province of the Russian Empire.

[2] While negotiating for closer relations between Kyiv and Kharkiv revolutionaries, she was arrested, tried and found guilty of propaganda.

19 June] 1876, she was arrested en route to Shpola with a fake passport, but managed to escape custody.

4 May] 1879, she was prosecuted by the Kyiv district court,[6] which exiled her to Siberia for 14 years of penal labour.