Elena Kostenko was born on August 9, 1926 in Leningrad. In 1952, Elena Kostenko graduated from the Repin Institute of Fine Arts, the workshop of Viktor Oreshnikov. She studied at Semen Abugov, Yuri Neprintsev, Mikhail Platunov, Andrei Mylnikov. Participated in exhibitions since 1952. Member of the Leningrad Union of Artists since 1953. She paints portraits, still-lifes, landscapes, genre compositions. Personal exhibitions in Belgorod (1981) and Leningrad (1986). Elena Kostenko works are in museums and private collections in Russia, France, Japan, the USA and other countries.