Like the "French theory" of the second half of the 20th century. and long before it, the "Russian theory" - the theory of language and literature, created in the 20-30s, especially under the influence of formalism in literary criticism - revolutionized the entire world tradition of humanitarian thinking. Her development did not last long and was interrupted by totalitarian dogmatism, but her short heyday turned out to be extremely fruitful and her legacy still constitutes a fascinating subject of research.