Shevtsova earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in History and Journalism from Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1971. Her Ph.D. in Political Science is from the Academy of Social Sciences, conferred in 1976. She served as director of the Center for Political Studies in Moscow, and as deputy director of the Moscow Institute of International Economic and Political Studies.

In the 2008 Top 100 Public Intellectuals Poll she was ranked 36.She writes for Foreign Policy magazine. Her areas of expertise include: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caspian, Chechnya, Eastern Europe, Georgia, Kosovo, Political reform, Russia, Caucasus, Politics of Russia, and Ukraine.