Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad 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 period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

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

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