Olena Apanovych was born in Melekes, Simbirsk Governorate (now Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Oblast), Russia, into the family of a railroad clerk.

From May 1944, Olena worked in the Central State Archive of Ukraine in Kyiv as a researcher and prepared many historical documents for publishing.

[1][2][3] In 1950, Apanovych defended her dissertation for the Candidate of Sciences degree (roughly equivalent to a Ph.D.) on the Zaporozhian Cossacks' participation in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.

From 1972, after being fired for political reasons from the Institute of History, Apanovych worked in the Central Scientific Library of the Academy of Science of Ukraine, making significant contributions in manuscript research.

In the early 1980s, she was often invited to be a historical consultant for documentary and fiction films on Ukrainian Cossackdom.