Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance towards a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Fight for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working to preserve 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 erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, 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 degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect 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 residents not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first save its walls.