We met Armen and Victoria Mnatsakanyan during Armenian language classes organized by Repat Armenia. Armen is a crisis manager, born and raised in Moscow, while Victoria is a psychologist who worked for many years in the social sphere: first at Russia’s first children’s home that began placing children into families, and later by training other specialists in this field.
 

“Living conditions in Russia changed: for the past five years, I was actively networking with Western and Eastern colleagues through LinkedIn (blocked in Russia), promoting my theory. But in Russia, this was no longer welcomed. I could have been labeled a foreign agent simply because 90% of my time I was in contact with international colleagues. That’s why I decided to leave Russia. Armenia was never a foreign country for me: my father was born in Yerevan before moving to Moscow. I often visited my grandfather in Armenia, and he visited us. Back then, it never occurred to me that one day I would live here,” – recalls Armen Mnatsakanyan.
 

Continuing her husband’s thought, Victoria notes that his decision did not come as a surprise to her. As proof of their harmony, she recalls how they often ended up choosing the same colors in clothes without planning – a reflection of their overall life agreement and balance.
 

“I was born in Kamchatka, never liked Moscow, and always wanted to leave. We also faced hardships: our countryside home burned down, we had to move into an apartment – so we are no strangers to starting life from scratch.”
 

To ease the separation from family and friends, the couple decided to launch a Telegram channel for a Russian-speaking audience to share their life in Armenia. Over time, Victoria became passionate about filming, pursued additional training as a videographer, and now devotes most of her time to creating content for YouTube. What started as a bridge for friends has grown into a way to share with many people the Armenia that surprises, fascinates, and inspires them.
 

“YouTube offers so many opportunities today, and we try to use them to the fullest. We create complete short films about Armenia – not just ‘talking head’ videos. These are not simple stories: we bring them to life with visuals, diagrams, symbols, and emotions.
Armen handles the historical part: he uncovers interesting, rare, and hidden facts that make the narrative deep and original. I, as a videographer and psychologist, create the structure, film, edit, and design the visual style. I strive to make it not only informative to listen to but also captivating to watch. This approach is what viewers warmly highlight in their comments. Finally, my two backgrounds – psychology and directing – have come together in this project. It has become a space where we can explore deep memory through myths, symbols, and the living memory of antiquity,” – says Victoria.
 

On their YouTube channel “Places of Power of Armenia”, one can find materials about cuisine, history, and culture.
Victoria admits that she has fallen in love with Armenian history and with Armenia itself: “Armenia has many layers, and behind each layer something else is hidden. On excursions, I realized that the part we are shown is just a tiny fraction of what exists. This also became a reason to open the channel: we are trying to discover things many people don’t know about,” – she says.
 

Before moving permanently, Armen and Victoria had visited Armenia and noticed how much both the capital and the country as a whole have changed.
“The infrastructure allows you to continue professional activity, the country’s development is obvious, but in the last 30 years, too much has been lost. Much needs to be rebuilt from scratch.
What impresses me most is the work ethic of the people – their focus on results and sense of responsibility,” – says Armen. His wife adds that the positives in Armenia far outweigh the negatives: “It’s only sad that the pink city is turning gray – they are spoiling a beautiful city. Otherwise, I feel comfortable: there are no language barriers, there are countless events both in Yerevan and outside, wonderful concerts, festivals, and cultural diversity everywhere.”
 

The couple travels extensively across Armenia and are convinced that the country offers things that cannot be found elsewhere. Armen, who also teaches at the Russian-Armenian University, believes there is huge potential for growth: “There is space here, but it is unstructured. It’s hard to identify which issues matter most, and that makes it difficult to apply one’s skills. For example, in my 10-lecture course, when I talk about typical problems in management, businesspeople often say they don’t have such problems, everything is fine. But after a few sessions, they themselves realize those problems exist.
Also, the country’s leadership needs to articulate and communicate its strategic and tactical goals more clearly, backing them with concrete actions.”
 

Armen and Victoria plan to stay in Armenia: Armen hopes to continue his work with the university, while Victoria enjoys the breathtaking view of Mount Ararat and Aragats from their 16th-floor apartment window.
 

By Nare Bejanyan

Translation via AI based on the original article in Russian: «У Армении очень много слоев…».