Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against an invading force, she clarified: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems unusual at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display comparable art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Threats to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately 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 not yet close from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.