The capital is increasingly losing its historical identity, and the cause is not just the war
The demolition of the historical estate of the Zelensky family, the reconstruction of the "Flying Saucer," and the arson of "Flowers of Ukraine" are just a few examples of the losses that historical Kyiv has faced over the past year. Dozens of architectural monuments are on the brink of complete destruction, as the city authorities show little interest in preserving them, with land in Kyiv continuing to be valued more than historical heritage.
What we have lost over the past year and what we could lose soon—read more in the new article from Kashtan NEWS.
The Zelensky Estate
The two-story estate of the Zelensky family on Oleksandra Konytsky Street (formerly Turgenevskaya), built in the late 19th century, was targeted for demolition twice by developers—in 2018 and 2021. In 2024, the attempts unfortunately succeeded: on July 19, heavy construction equipment demolished the historical building almost to its foundation. Local residents and activists tried to stop the demolishers, but the police they called arrived only forty-five minutes later, by which time it was virtually too late to save anything.
5 This barbaric incident became perhaps the loudest architectural scandal of the past year. Prior to this, heritage protectors had repeatedly urged the city authorities to grant the Zelensky estate protected status, but the only achievement was its inclusion in the so-called "Klychko List" of cultural heritage in 2021. However, the mayor's list did not prevent developers from getting rid of the "unnecessary" monument, which, unfortunately for it, was located right next to the 11-story residential complex "Turgenev," built in 2017 by the company "Servit."
Despite public outrage, after the demolition of the Zelensky estate, events unfolded according to the usual script: symbolic outrage from Klychko regarding the actions of developers, a belated order from the Ministry of Culture to the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Kyiv City State Administration to grant the already destroyed building monument status, and a spectacular TV appearance by a co-owner of the building making claims about the absence of any cultural, historical, or architectural value of the estate. (It is worth noting that a similar situation occurred after the barbaric demolition in 2023 of the Harychkov's house on Yaroslavska Street.)
6 For some time, the city authorities filled the information space with promises to restore the Zelensky estate and even signed a relevant memorandum with the developer. However, in terms of effectiveness, this memorandum seems to have proven no more useful than the infamous Budapest one: in the following months, any talk of restoration was forgotten, and by November, the Supreme Court recognized the demolition of the estate as legal despite its granted protection status.
However, another court process regarding the Zelensky estate is currently ongoing—specifically between the Kyiv City State Administration and the developer who signed the memorandum for its restoration. On November 27, a preparatory hearing in this case was supposed to take place at the Shevchenkivskyi District Court in the capital, but the stars did not align unexpectedly.
“None of the developer's representatives appeared at the court hearing, and the court was postponed again. Now, Judge Matveeva will only be able to hear the first explanations from the parties in the new year 2025. To be precise—on January 14, at 14:00,” – reported Kyiv heritage protector Dmytro Perov.
Ruins Behind Screens
Another loss that historical Kyiv suffered last year was the historic building at 50/23 Velyka Vasylkivska Street. The upper floor of the building, constructed in 1907 in the rationalist modern style, suffered from a fire twenty-two years ago, and since then, it has been covered with advertising banners under the pretext of restoration work.
When the screens were finally removed in 2024 at the insistence of activists, it turned out that the building was almost completely destroyed: despite promises, no one had undertaken its restoration during all this time.
7 A similar fate befell the house of merchant Wolfson (12 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street), built in 1884. In 2014, it also endured a fire and was concealed behind advertising banners. The removal of the banners in 2024 revealed a sad sight—the right side of the building was dismantled down to the facade. Who and when did this remains a mystery that the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Kyiv City State Administration is in no hurry to unveil.
Burning Issues
The year 2024, like previous years, was marked by strange fires that affected several historical buildings.
In February, the house of merchant Babarykin in Tatarka, built in the late 19th century, caught fire. The building is a typical example of Kyiv's architecture from that time; however, neither its historical significance nor its respectable age compelled the city authorities to grant it protected status, so there is a risk that this fire will not be the last for the building.
8 Five months later, in July, a fire occurred at the "Flowers of Ukraine" pavilion in the city center on Sichovykh Striltsiv Street, built in the 1980s in the post-war modernist style designed by architect Mykola Levchuk.
9 “The 'Flowers' were on fire. The arson occurred on the second floor, but the fire was quickly contained. A big thank you to the rescuers for their prompt actions. We have filed statements with the police—we demand an investigation into the arson and the negligent maintenance of the building by the owner,” – reported the community “Save 'Flowers of Ukraine'.”
Candidates for Destruction
The threat also hangs over the famous "Flying Saucer"—a modernist building near the Lybidska metro station, built in 1971 according to the design of Florian Yurev. Since 2020, the building has had the status of an architectural monument, and construction near it is prohibited by law. However, this did not prevent the Kyiv City Council from transferring two neighboring plots for development on November 21—5 Luzhevskoho Street and 180 Antonovycha Street—to the former consul of the Russian Federation, the well-known developer Vagif Aliyev.
Aliyev's company is currently constructing the Ocean Mall shopping center, which is gradually engulfing the "Flying Saucer," threatening to leave at best half of it.
0 Additionally, the Kyiv City Council has transferred a plot with the income-generating building of Olena Oletskaya (7h Hoholiivska Street), built in the early 20th century, for development. The building's owner is the developer "Stroitel-P," and interestingly, in just the penultimate month of the year, the estate mysteriously managed to catch fire twice—on November 11 and November 15. Now "Stroitel-P" has also been granted a lease for the land around it, so it would not be surprising if some unforeseen misfortune befalls the historical building again soon.
Another potential candidate for destruction is the famous Courtyard with Crows at 9 Reitarska Street. In November, a petition appeared on the Kyiv City Council's website demanding to preserve the courtyard from developers' encroachments.
1 “On July 4, 2024, the Kyiv City Council transferred the land plot with the courtyard 'for the construction and maintenance of tourist infrastructure facilities' to the ownership of LLC 'Regional Development Center,' linked to Vagif Aliyev. This decision raised concerns among city residents, as the transfer of land with the wording 'for construction' puts the courtyard directly at risk of development, despite any promises from the new owners,” – stated the petition, whose authors demand the cancellation of the decision to transfer the courtyard to Aliyev.
Yulia TENENYOVA