The Transfiguration of the Saviour Church was built between 1735 and 1750 originally as the cathedral of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. However the location of the monastery proved to be unsuitable and so in 1794 the monastery was moved to a new location and its cathedral was demoted to a parish church. The Transfiguration of the Saviour Church was closed down by the Soviets in the 1930s whereas the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery was completely destroyed. The church's original domes were removed and it was used as a repository for the city's library. It was later returned to the Orthodox Church in 1993 and restoration work was carried out.