Théorie de la littérature (1966) brings together several writings of the Russian formalists, some of which had never been published before. The article focuses on Tzvetan Todorov, the main protagonist here, and on the dual reception of the book, both intellectual and political. Théorie de la littérature presents the Russian formalists and their history as key sources of structural linguistics. At the same time, the book, together with its reception, helped to expose Stalinist repression of the vanguards.