Avraam Russo
Avraam Russo 
| |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Abraham Zhanovich Ipjian |
| Name in Armenian | Աբրահամ Ռուսսո |
| Birthplace | Aleppo |
| Birth date | 21 July 1969 |
| Lived in | Aleppo, Moscow, New York |
| Profession | Singer |
| Languages | Amenian, Russian, Arabic |
| Ethnicities | Armenian |
| Dialects | Eastern Armenian, Western Armenian |
| Spouses | Morela Russo |
| Children | Emanuella, Avemaria |
Avraam Russo (Russian: Авраам Руссо, Armenian: Աբրահամ Ռուսսո, Arabic: أفرام روسو); born as Abraham Zhanovich Ipjian (Russian: Абрахам Жанович Ипджян; born July 21, 1969) is a Syrian-born Russian pop singer of Armenian origin.
Avraam was born in the Syrian city of Aleppo to an Armenian family with three brothers. One of his brothers Name was Jaen Ipdzian,
His father was from the city of Ayntab (nowadays Gaziantep) in Cilicia, (Çukurova in modern-day Turkey) and his mother is from Dikranagerd (now known as Diyarbakır).
Avraam lost his father at an early age and his mother had to serve other households for the survival of the family. His singing talent was discovered while he was performing Armenian liturgical songs during his monastic studies in Aleppo. He also studied in an Armenian Orthodox seminary in Bikfaya, Lebanon for a couple of years. After leaving the studies, he was quickly involved in several amateur bands, making part-time appearances in Arab venues and outdoor restaurants (such as "Ramaya", "Aleppo Family Swimming Pool", "Somar", Orouba Club, etc.) and in hotels like "Al Amir" in Aleppo.[1] During these years he was affectionately known as Apig or Apo, derivatives of his birthname Abraham.
In 1993 he went to Cyprus and worked in night clubs for two years earning meagre salaries. But his presence in Cyprus proved important for his future career, as he got the attention of a Russian Azerbaijan-Jewish tycoon Telman Ismailov (originally from Baku, Azerbaijan SSR and now Vice President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress) who, during one of his business trips to Cyprus, attended Avraam's performance and liked his work very much. Being owner of big retail businesses and entertainment outlets including "Prague Restaurant" and a well connected entrepreneur, he invited Avraam to take part in multilingual performances in Russia taking the Russian name Avraam Russo.