Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of staying in our country. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Challenges to History

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

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing 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 added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Abandonment

One notorious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly 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 “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates 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 carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “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 unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles 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 last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.