Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in our homeland. I could have left, starting anew to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a time when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Battle for History

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been attempting to save 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 erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of 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 added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

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