Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance towards a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Battle for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to preserve 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 first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Threats to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One glaring location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. 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 constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first save its walls.