Since the early 1990s, with the end of the Cold War, dozens of cities and hundreds of rural settlements in various countries on the post-socialist space have been destroyed. Residents of these settlements were forced to abandon their former lives when they lost hope for a secure existence. Each new war seems more devastating than the previous one. Every city recently heavily damaged by military action  feels unique to us. The ruins of Ukrainian Mariupol and the burnt-out high-rises of Bakhmut displace the images of almost annihilated Grozny from a few decades ago. 

Some ruined cities are able to revitalize. But is it possible to rebuild a destroyed city and leave the conflict that smashed it in the past? How will Mariupol rebuilt by the Russian occupying authorities look – will it be the “same city”? What will be the new Azerbaijani cities of Fizuli and Agdam, now almost completely destroyed? What fate awaits Stepanakert, left behind by its inhabitants, the Karabakh Armenians who went into exile? Deep wounds inflicted on cities and their inhabitants cannot disappear with their rebuilding. Their memory is inscribed in nationalist ideologies and reflected in memorial landscapes. The traumatic memory of destroyed cities is designed to cement modern nations and nourish images of the enemy. Therefore conflicts and wars become moments of mass symbolic mobilization for entire “imagined communities” including those who never witnessed the war itself. Mass migration and flows of IDPs exemplify how war complicates the life of cities and villages located far from the front lines.

In addition to these devastating social, cultural and urban effects, modern armed conflict also worsens environmental conditions. Many cities struggled with ecological problems even before the armed conflicts, but war turns problems into catastrophes. Poisoned water and soil, apartment blocks turned into rubble, human and animal remains hastily buried or never removed – this is what urban spaces become after the war. The direct destruction of human lives and settlements, wildfires, biodiversity loss, chemical pollution from munitions use and military combat, environmental consequences of destroying urban, industrial, and energy infrastructure, such as the Kakhovka Dam explosion – these are just a few of the direct environmental consequences of wars. Extra greenhouse gas emissions from military actions, forest fires and infrastructure restoration add to the crisis.

Not only invaded countries suffer. Environmental legislation has been often weakened or postponed under the guise of strategic military interests and economic challenges in all countries involved in the military conflicts. Public hearings and civic environmental reviews are frequently canceled or made difficult for genuine experts and activists, while environmental activists face prosecution, and state-supported GONGOs act in place of true civil society.

The authorities who started the [Russia/Ukraine] war issue propaganda, which gives the impression that they enjoy full support from their citizens, all the while meting out harsh repression against dissenters. Yet, citizens do not give up. They seek opportunities to rebuilt destroyed “life worlds”, challenged identities and broken social ties.

As scholars and reflective citizens, we cannot ignore the multifaceted effects of military conflicts on our cities, residents, societies, and the environment. We invite researchers, journalists, activists, and interested individuals to share their observations, knowledge, and experiences during this one-day event organized by CISR e.V. Berlin and Dialogue for Understanding e.V. on September 27, 2024, at Refugio space, with the support of the Auswärtiges Amt and the European Commission.