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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered strange at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers seal blown-out 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 working to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor denies 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 fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Abandonment

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

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom 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 “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s soul, you must first save its stones.