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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance towards a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Campaign for Beauty

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Challenges to Heritage

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

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Demolition and Abandonment

One glaring demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. 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 claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions 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 crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue 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 citizens not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

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