Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition against a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear strange at a period when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Battle for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted 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, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors survived, 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 little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first protect its stones.