On December 8, Gyumri’s Nostalgi Company hosted famous singer Avraam Russo’s (Apraham Injipian) first solo concert in Gyumri. Among the people in his audience were his big fans, including citizens of Gyumri, the families of soldiers serving at the 102^nd military base in Gyumri and employees of the Russian Consulate in Gyumri led by the deputy consul. The auditorium was packed, and there was not even a place to stand. There were people of all ages.

As reports aravot.am, as soon as Avraam Russo came out to the stage, he started speaking purely and beautifully in Armenian and shocked the audience for a moment. He expressed his condolences to the citizens of Gyumri on the occasion of the earthquake that took place on 7 December 1988 and said the following in Armenian: “Yesterday was a day of pain and sorrow. I wouldn’t like to talk a lot about that, but I would like to remind you that life goes on, Christ, our Lord, is always with us. So, whatever happened, let it stay in our hearts and in our minds, but let’s continue to live with faith, power and love. I visited your city for the first time today, though I have visited Yerevan several times. I really like Armenia. It might be a foreign city for everyone else, but for us, it is our homeland, and a homeland can’t be bad.”

After hearing these words, the citizens of Gyumri clapped so much that the singer said the following with more motivation: “You have created a beautiful city here. It’s very pretty. After so much destruction, God gave you the strength and potential, and you created it again. If we look at the history, Mother Armenia has been destroyed and has undergone changes several times. Many nations have lost their cities. Where are they now? Where are the Assyrians? We are a small nation, but we have a homeland. May God help us return our other lands! May God be with us! Let’s not lose hope.”

Russo talked to the audience in two languages. He performed a new song and two patriotic songs in Armenian. In one of those songs, he dreamed that Mount Masis would be his. “Ashkharhums Inch Kuzeyi, Vor Masise Sare Ime Liner” (What I want in this world is for Mount Masis to be mine)-these are the words in the song.

Avraam Russo will be donating a part of the proceeds from his concert to the renovation of dilapidated churches in Armenia’s provinces. This is what Levon Movsisyan, who is one of the founders of Nostalgi Company, said. Movsisyan said the tickets were sold out three days before the concert and that this came as a surprise because the organizers weren’t expecting to see tickets sold quickly due to the heavy social conditions in Gyumri. Let us mention that ticket prices ranged from 5,000 to 7,500 drams.