{"id":1942,"date":"2026-08-20T20:31:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meetdilijan.com\/?post_type=stories&p=1942"},"modified":"2026-09-08T17:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:37:21","slug":"oleg-umnov-if-dilijan-were-a-person-hed-be-a-psychologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meetdilijan.com\/ru\/blog\/oleg-umnov-if-dilijan-were-a-person-hed-be-a-psychologist\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleg Umnov: “If Dilijan were a person, he’d be a psychologist”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oleg Umnov moved to Armenia from Kirov with his wife and daughter. Here he makes and restores furniture. He spent three years living with his family in Yerevan before relocating to Dilijan. We talked to Oleg about how his pace of life has changed, why the neighbors feel like family, and what he thinks the town still needs.<\/p>\n

There was never any question of where to move<\/h2>\n

We lived in Yerevan for three years and often drove out to Dilijan \u2014 slowly falling in love with the town. That’s how the idea crept in: why not get a place here. At some point, renting both an apartment and a workshop in Yerevan became too much. So we decided to change cities. We found the house through one of the local chats.<\/p>\n

I sent my wife one photo of the balcony \u2014 she wrote back ‘we’re taking it’<\/h2>\n

The house is over 60 years old, and no one had lived in it for the last 30 of those. Even so, it was in decent shape and had a lot of potential. What scared us was that it had no power, water, or gas at all.<\/p>\n

We started the renovation with electricity \u2014 the easiest part. We put in a new boiler, ran new pipes and radiators, and brought in water from the nearest connection point. While the work was going on, we lived in a guesthouse. Gas only showed up a month later, in October.<\/p>\n

I started with the kitchen \u2014 had to put up a whole new wall there. Then drywall, paint, a new window, and I built the kitchen cabinets myself, out of birch plywood. It turned out really nice.<\/p>\n

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The house was full of old furniture \u2014 some of it I fixed up myself<\/h2>\n

There was a beautiful old table: the base was solid wood, and I restored it, then made a new top out of an old plank. It turned into a big, handsome table.<\/p>\n

I love old things in general, and furniture I’m working on tends to follow me from workshop to workshop. We added some new pieces too \u2014 a coffee table, some Soviet-era armchairs. It all came together very cozy.<\/p>\n

Our garden is big, full of fruit trees<\/h2>\n

But it was almost completely covered in blackberry bushes \u2014 we’ve cleared about half of it so far. In front of the house I laid down grass, put in a small pool for our daughter, made a little vegetable patch with tomatoes and cucumbers \u2014 and, of course, flowers.<\/p>\n

Getting to work now takes me 15 seconds<\/h2>\n

We looked for a house with both living space and workspace \u2014 downstairs we have a basement, and that’s my workshop. So getting to work I just have to walk downstairs.<\/p>\n

So in Dilijan, we suddenly had time<\/h2>\n

In Yerevan I was in a constant rush just to cover the basics. Here the financial pressure is lower, and we’ve noticeably slowed down. An evening walk to the store became a little ritual. Neighbors were surprised at first: “What happened to your car, why are you walking?”<\/p>\n

We also picked up a mini-tradition: regular trips to the vegetable market in Ijevan. It’s not just about the prices \u2014 an ordinary grocery run turns into a scenic little trip.<\/p>\n

Life got tastier and cheaper \u2014 except for utilities and caf\u00e9s<\/h2>\n

We started eating a lot more fresh vegetables and fruit. Twice a week, Molokan sellers come to our street \u2014 we buy milk, butter, and their famous sauerkraut from them. But for familiar brands from Yerevan, we sometimes have to drive to Vanadzor, where there’s a “Yerevan City” store.<\/p>\n

We didn’t expect the town to be this strong on kids’ activities<\/h2>\n

Our daughter goes to a good kindergarten \u2014 cheaper than in Yerevan, with a wider program: languages, yoga, brain gym, a speech therapist.<\/p>\n

Neighbors told us: “Welcome to the family”<\/h2>\n

Talking to people is my fuel. In three years in Yerevan I made a lot of friends, both Russian and local. It’s the same in Dilijan, only the town is smaller and the community is tighter-knit. A week after we moved in, the neighbors set up a huge table in the yard, and one of them made a toast: “Welcome to the family.” That’s when I realized I’d become a local.<\/p>\n

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In Dilijan I found calm and peace of mind<\/h2>\n

And more time with my family. And, of course, neighbors you don’t just say hi to \u2014 you drop by for coffee, for lunch, celebrate holidays together.<\/p>\n

The first thing I show friends is our house<\/h2>\n

Guests usually stay for a night or two. To really get to know the town, you need to slow down: start with coffee or a glass of wine on the balcony with a view of the mountains, then go for a walk.<\/p>\n

For first-time visitors, I recommend the architectural walking tour of the town, run from the local center near the park entrance. It shows you what the town was meant to be \u2014 and what never got built.<\/p>\n