Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of living in our country. I could have left, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been attempting to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Destruction and Disregard

One notorious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first protect its stones.