Aleksey Vasilievich Koltsov, famous Russian poet, was born in Voronezh on the 15 of October in 1809. He studied for less than two years at a local school. Aleksey left the school at the insistence of his father who wanted his help with his business. Koltsov bought and sold cattle; and in the meantime, wrote poems secretly from his father.
The first serious introduction of his poetry happened in 1831, when Nikolai Stankevich, a poet and philosopher from Moscow, published several poems in "Literaturnaya gazeta" (Literary newspaper) with a short introduction. In 1835, his first collection of poetry was published. Koltsov often travelled on business to St. Petersburg and Moscow, where he met Belinsky, who became his mentor, as well as Vasily Zhukovsky, Pyotr Vyazemsky, Vladimir Odoevsky, and Aleksandr Pushkin, who published one of Koltsov's poems in his journal "Sovremennik".
Koltsov died in 1842 at the age 33. He was buried in Voronezh.
In honor of A. V. Koltsov named a square, a gymnasium, a library, the Voronezh state academic drama theatre and a street in Voronezh. In Koltsovsky square bust of the poet was erected in 1868. The monument to him is installed also in the Soviet area of Voronezh.