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

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance against a foreign power, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered unusual at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class unconcerned or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed 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 levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing 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 appreciate the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

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