Fedor Osipovich Shechtel, also known as Franz Albert Schechtel, was an outstanding Russian architect, painter, graphic artist, and set designer. He became one of the most prominent representatives of the Art Nouveau style in architecture both in Russia and Europe, and is considered one of the leading architects at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Despite his fame, Shechtel never received an official architect's diploma.

He came from a family of Bavarian colonists who settled in the Shukk colony in June 1766. In the 1820s, his grandfather moved to Saratov. The Shechtel family was engaged in the trade of wine, jewelry, tobacco, and various manufactured goods. In Saratov, they were highly respected, owning several shops, houses, a hotel, a weaving factory, and a starch factory. Their shops were also located in Krasnoyarsk, Yeniseisk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, and St. Petersburg. The foundation of the family’s wealth was laid by Fedor's grandfather, Osip Osipovich, and his business was continued by his five sons: Franz, Anton, Ivan, Alois, and Osip, who remained in the common capital as per the will. However, the great architect ended his life in poverty in the RSFSR. He wrote that he was so weak that he could not sit or lie down, and he had no means even for medicine. Despite receiving a personal pension of 75 rubles a month, which was granted to him by Narcom A.V. Lunacharsky, this money was barely enough for survival. Shechtel, his wife, and his daughter Ekaterina, who was also disabled, lived in difficult conditions. He mentioned his collection of paintings, Persian miniatures, and rare books, which no one bought despite their significant value.