El-Registan

Gabriel Arkadyevich Ureklyan (Russian: Габриэль Аркадьевич Уреклян; Armenian: Գաբրիել Էլ-Ռեգիստան; 15 December 1899 – 30 June 1945), better known as El-Registan (Эль-Регистан), was a Soviet Armenian poet[1] best known for having co-written the lyrics to the State Anthem of the Soviet Union along with Sergey Mikhalkov.

His father, Arshak (Russified to Arkadi) Ureklyan, fled to Tiflis from Ottoman-ruled Armenia in 1890s due to the Hamidian Massacres, and subsequently moved to Samarkand.

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.

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.

[2] After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, El-Registan became a special war correspondent, frequently traveling to front lines.