Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition against a neighboring state, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes 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 friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, 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 state bodies,” he remarked.

Destruction and Disregard

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming 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 accommodate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while serving in a contested area. 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 built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves 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 not a thing 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 value the past? “Unfortunately they lack 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 that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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