Alexander Sevastian, "Sasha", (October 2, 1976 – February 16, 2018) was a well-known virtuoso Russian-Canadian accordionist. He was born on October 2, 1976 in Minsk, Belarus where he started, at age seven, to play the accordion. Sevastian was the oldest child of Nadya, a computer engineer, and Mikhail, a chemist, and amateur accordionist. Much of Sevastian's education and very early career was in Russia. In April 2001, he moved to Canada, finished his education, and joined the well-known Canadian ensemble Quartetto Gelato. In 2004, he returned to Russia to marry Anna (Anya) Budennaya and bring her back to Canada to start a family. Sevastian became a Canadian citizen in 2005.