Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of living in our country. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems paradoxical at a time when drone attacks 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 board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Campaign for Beauty

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been working to save 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 built in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character 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 crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” 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 collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first save its history.