Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The renovation effort 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 foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered strange at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers seal broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase comparable art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously 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 argued.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility 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 “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate 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 such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

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