Laskovskii, Fedor

Laskovskii, Fedor Fedorovich 

Born July 22 (Aug. 3), 1802, in St. Petersburg; died there Apr. 8 (20), 1870. Russian military engineer and historian; lieutenant general (1862).

After graduating from the higher officers classes at the Main Engineering School in 1822, Laskovskii began teaching the subject of fortification there in 1824. In 1832 he combined this with the position of adjunct professor at the Academy of the General Staff, where he became a full professor in 1842. In 1858 he became an honored professor of the Engineering Academy. Together with professor N. V. Boldyrev he wrote the Course of Fortification (1864). Between 1853 and 1869 he compiled his fundamental work, Materials for a History of Engineering Art in Russia. This was the first historical investigation of the development of military engineering thought and technology in Russia from ancient times until the early 19th century (the first three parts of the work, covering up to the mid-18th century, were published in 1858–65; the fourth was not published and is kept at the library of the V. V. Kuibyshev Military Engineering Academy). Laskovskii’s work continues to be important today.