Editing César Cui (section)

===Upbringing and career===
[[File:Cesar Cui by Makovsky (cropped).jpg|thumb|Portrait of César Cui by [[Konstantin Makovsky]] (detail), {{circa|1880s}}]]

Cesarius-Benjaminus Cui was born in Wilno, [[Vilna Governorate]] of the Russian Empire (now [[Vilnius]], [[Lithuania]]) into a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] family of [[France|French]] and [[Polish people|Polish]]–[[Lithuanian people|Lithuanian]] descent, the youngest of five children.<ref>As Cui wrote to Felipe Pedrell in 1897:  "Bien que russe, je suis d’origine mi-française, mi-lithuanienne." See {{harvnb|Norris|Neff|n.d.}}</ref> The original French spelling of his surname was "Queuille."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/russmus/cui/cuibio.html|title = Cui Bio}}</ref> His French father, Antoine (Anton Leonardovich) Cui, entered Russia with [[French invasion of Russia|Napoleon's army]]; in 1812, he was injured during the battle near [[Smolensk]] and (following the defeat) would settle in Vilnius. He married local [[szlachta|noblewoman]] Julia Gucewicz;<ref>Назаров, p. 7-8.</ref> some sources indicate that her father was the Lithuanian architect [[Laurynas Gucevičius]].<ref>Eduardas Budreika. [http://eia.libis.lt:8080/archyvas/viesas/20110110060412/http://www.culture.lt/satenai/?leid_id=692&kas=straipsnis&st_id=2498 Antoine Cui and his Lithuanian family] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611044626/http://eia.libis.lt:8080/archyvas/viesas/20110110060412/http://www.culture.lt/satenai/?leid_id=692&kas=straipsnis&st_id=2498 |date=11 June 2016 }} article from [[:lt:Šiaurės Atėnai|Šiaurės Atėnai]], 13 March 2004 (in Lithuanian)</ref>

The young César grew up learning [[French language|French]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]].<ref>Назаров, p. 14-15.</ref> As a secondary school ([[gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]]) student in Wilno, he took music lessons with [[Stanisław Moniuszko]] in 1850. Later that year, before completing his gymnasium education, Cui was sent to [[Saint Petersburg]] to prepare to enter the [[Military Engineering-Technical University|Chief Engineering School]], which he did the following year at age 16.<ref>Назаров, p. 15-16.</ref> In 1855, he graduated from the academy; following advanced studies at the Nikolaevsky Engineering Academy (now [[Military Engineering-Technical University]]), he began his military career in 1857 as an instructor in fortifications.<ref>Назаров, p. 22, 35.</ref> His students over the decades included several members of the [[House of Romanov|Imperial family]], most notably [[Nicholas II]].<ref>Ильинский, А.А.; Пахулский, Г. ''Биографии композиторов с IV-XX век с портретами'' (Москва: Изд. К.А. Дурново, 1904), p. 518.</ref> Cui eventually ended up teaching at three of the military academies in Saint Petersburg.{{sfn|Neef|1992|p=136}} Cui's study of fortifications gained from a frontline assignment during the [[Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878]] proved important to his career. As an expert on military fortifications, Cui eventually attained the academic rank of professor in 1880 and the military rank of [[general]] in 1906.<ref>Назаров, p. 106-110, 194.</ref> His writings on fortifications included textbooks that were widely used, in several successive editions (see bibliography below).