Preserving the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our country. I had the option to depart, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear strange at a period when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Campaign for History

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Disregard

One egregious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal 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 little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Regrettably they lack 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 civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

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