G. El-Registan
Encyclopedia
Gabriyel’ Arkadyevich Uryeklyan , better known as El-Registan (Эль-Регистан), was a Soviet
Armenian
poet.
, Uzbekistan
, then part of the Russian Empire
. His father, Arshak (Russified to Arkadi) Ureklyan, fled to Tiflis from the Ottoman-ruled Armenia in 1890's, and subsequently moved to Samarkand. He took the Bolshevik
side during the Russian Civil War
and the subsequent Soviet takeover of Central Asia
. Embarking on a career as a reporter and writer, he adopted the nickname El-Registan, which was composed of a part of his first name and the Samarkand's most famous landmark, Registan
. He worked in several prominent Central Asian newspapers, including Pravda Vostoka
in Tashkent
. He achieved prominence as a talented reporter and was invited to move to Moscow to work for the Izvestia
. From there, he covered the massive Soviet construction and heavy industry-building campaigns and became a prominent propagandist, such as the White Sea – Baltic Canal, Uralmash
, etc. He also wrote movie scripts and radio plays, and El-Registan is perhaps better known for his script of the Soviet film Djulbars (1935).
After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
in June 1941, El-Registan became a special war correspondent
, frequently traveling to front lines. He attracted the attention of Joseph Stalin
, and when he submitted his draft of the new Soviet anthem, written in collaboration with Sergey Mikhalkov
, Stalin personally chose the draft and instructed the authors on the changes to be made. Eventually, it was adopted as the National Anthem of the Soviet Union
in 1944.
He was married to [Valentina Galanina], an actress in Moscow. El-Registan died in Moscow and is buried in the Novodevichye Cemetery.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
poet.
Biography
He was born into an Armenian banker's family in SamarkandSamarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. His father, Arshak (Russified to Arkadi) Ureklyan, fled to Tiflis from the Ottoman-ruled Armenia in 1890's, and subsequently moved to Samarkand. He took the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
side during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and the subsequent Soviet takeover of Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. Embarking on a career as a reporter and writer, he adopted the nickname El-Registan, which was composed of a part of his first name and the Samarkand's most famous landmark, Registan
Registan
The Registan was the heart of the ancient city of Samarkand, now in Uzbekistan. The name Registan means "Sandy place" in Persian....
. He worked in several prominent Central Asian newspapers, including Pravda Vostoka
Pravda Vostoka
Pravda Vostoka is a Russian language newspaper published in Uzbekistan. The paper was founded in 1917 under the name Nasha gazeta . It received its current name in 1924, and was the main Russian language newspaper of the Uzbek SSR. It had a print run of 250.000 newspapers....
in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
. He achieved prominence as a talented reporter and was invited to move to Moscow to work for the Izvestia
Izvestia
Izvestia is a long-running high-circulation daily newspaper in Russia. The word "izvestiya" in Russian means "delivered messages", derived from the verb izveshchat . In the context of newspapers it is usually translated as "news" or "reports".-Origin:The newspaper began as the News of the...
. From there, he covered the massive Soviet construction and heavy industry-building campaigns and became a prominent propagandist, such as the White Sea – Baltic Canal, Uralmash
Uralmash
Uralmash is a heavy machine production facility of the Russian engineering corporation OMZ. The facility is located in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The surrounding residential area where workers live is also called Uralmash....
, etc. He also wrote movie scripts and radio plays, and El-Registan is perhaps better known for his script of the Soviet film Djulbars (1935).
After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in June 1941, El-Registan became a special war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
, frequently traveling to front lines. He attracted the attention of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, and when he submitted his draft of the new Soviet anthem, written in collaboration with Sergey Mikhalkov
Sergey Mikhalkov
Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country's national anthem on three different occasions, spanning almost 60 years.-Life and career:...
, Stalin personally chose the draft and instructed the authors on the changes to be made. Eventually, it was adopted as the National Anthem of the Soviet Union
National Anthem of the Soviet Union
The National Anthem of the Soviet Union or the State Anthem of the USSR was introduced during World War II on March 15, 1944, replacing The Internationale as the official national anthem of the Soviet Union as well as the national anthem of the Russian SFSR...
in 1944.
He was married to [Valentina Galanina], an actress in Moscow. El-Registan died in Moscow and is buried in the Novodevichye Cemetery.