Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards an invading force, she explained: “We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, 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 normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s deteriorating 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 first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Threats to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Destruction and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a stern 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 stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect 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? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first save its walls.