Cesar Cui was a Russian soldier, composer and critic best known for being a part of the esteemed group ‘The Five.’ He was born into a military family with an army officer father who was a member of Napoleon’s army. He began learning piano when he was a kid and upon growing up, he studied to become an engineer. He joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1857 as an instructor in fortifications and eventually climbed the rank Engineer-General in the Army. He also built a side career for himself as a music composer as a part of a group of Russian nationalist composers, named The Five. He composed 15 operas throughout his careers, such as William Ratcliff, The Mandarin’s Son, and Prisoner of the Caucasus. He also composed several songs, piano concerts and choruses. He was a composer with hardcore nationalist sentiments toward music. In his career as a music critic, he also supported contemporary Russian nationalist composers, such as the members of his own group. As a critic, he has written about 800 reviews in his career. He kept composing until he passed away in 1916.