Author: A. V. Kolʹt︠s︡ov
Alternate names: Alexey Koltsov; Алексей Кольцов
Born: 15 October 1809
Died: 29 October 1842
Bio: Aleksey Vasilievich Koltsov (Russian: Алексе́й Васи́льевич Кольцо́в) was a Russian poet who has been called a Russian Burns. 
His poems, frequently placed in the mouth of women, stylize peasant-life songs and idealize agricultural labour. Koltsov earnestly collected Russian folklore which strongly influenced his poetry. He celebrated simple peasants, their work and their lives. Many of his poems were put to music by such composers as Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov.