Protecting the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its branch-like details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of staying in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate 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 protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the historic 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 full-scale invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming 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 accommodate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “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 unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its walls.