Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” 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 marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling 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 originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe 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 asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern security guard.

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

Continuing the Work

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

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and splendour.”

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