Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance towards a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a moment when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been working to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first save its walls.