Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance towards an invading force, she explained: “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of living in our country. I could have left, starting anew to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Campaign for History

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating 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 first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Dangers to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class unconcerned or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale 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 little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first save its history.