in 1934, the capital of soviet ukraine moved to kiev. during the preceding years, the city was seen as only a regional centre, and hence received little attention. all of that was to change, but at a great price. by this point, the first examples of stalinist architecture were already showing and in light of the official policy, a new city was to be built on top of the old one. this meant that priceless examples such as the st. michael's golden-domed monastery were destroyed. even the st. sophia cathedral was under threat.