Safeguarding Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition against a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of living in our country. 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 ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack genuine 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 flatten important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 authentic 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 nothing 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? “Sadly they lack 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 civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and splendour.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.