Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of living in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a period when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Campaign for Beauty

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come 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 lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, 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 deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire 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 renowned defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its history.