Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative 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 demonstration of opposition towards a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in our country. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”
“Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”
Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each attack, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.
Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.
“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.
But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another burden.
“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come 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 killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he argued.
One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.
Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.
One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built 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 wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.
“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”
The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.
Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”
In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its history.
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