Russian formalism is a modern doctrine in literary theory and analysis that emphasizes the autonomy of the work of art and the literary text.
The movement was founded in Russia around 1915 but was condemned by Stalin as a form of bourgeois decadence.
Viktor Shklovsky, Boris Eikhenbaum, and Roman Jakobson are among the most prominent figures in this movement. Russian formalism paid special attention to the protection of literature – i.e., the network of conventions and means that distinguish the literary use of language from other uses (e.g. everyday speech).
These theorists have also suggested that the main function of a literary text is ostranenie: the function of this type of text is to rearrange things so that we see again some aspects of our lives and our world.
Finally, they clearly distinguished in their research the narrative (plot) from the Fabula (story).
In part, structuralism derives from Russian formalism.
