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

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, admiring its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she clarified: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a period when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Threats to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “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 unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend 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 locals not value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first save its walls.