 With Burns Night Upon Us, what are three facts about Robert Burns that may surprise you? Firstly, Burns was massive in Russia. In fact, he became known as the people's poet of Russia. His poems were translated into Russian during the imperial period and also the Soviet period. In 1924, an astonishing 600,000 copies of Burns' work was sold in Russia. In 1956, Burns even featured on a Soviet stamp. Secondly, when Burns was in financial difficulties, after not making a success of farming, he was on the verge of moving to Jamaica to work on a sugar plantation as a bookkeeper or the assistant overseer of slaves. To fund his passage overseas, however, he was encouraged to put his poems into a collection and sell it through a subscription model. He comprised his best poems into a work and sent it off to John Wilson, a printer in Kilmarnock. On the 31st of July 1786, John Wilson published poems chiefly in the Scottish dialect by Robert Burns, known as the Kilmarnock Volume. It sold for three shillings and it was an instant success. So much so, the Burns never travelled to Jamaica and moved to Edinburgh instead. Thirdly, Burns fathered 12 children, nine with his wife, Jean Armour. Initially, Burns' reputation as a womanizer was so bad, the jeans father forbade the marriage, but they eventually got married in 1788. Burns, a man who died at the age of 37 in 1796, is still celebrated across the world on Burns' night, a reflection of the quality of his work. Thanks for watching and happy Burns' night.