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

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition against an invading force, she clarified: “Our aim is 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 homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy seems unusual at a time when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Threats to Heritage

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

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated 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 emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.