Abstract: The Birth and Death of Literary Theory, the latest monograph by Galin Tihanov, breaks with conventions in literary theory studies and explores the Russian literary theories between the Wars, such as Russian Formalism, Gustav Shpet's literary theory, Bakhtin's Cultural Poetics, Semantic Paleontology and Émigré Criticism and Theory, with a focus on the “a regime of relevance”, a prevalent mode of interpreting and using literature that is applicable to literary theory. It highlights the “radical historicity” of literary theory, namely, its transience from birth to death, represents the traveling of Russian literary theories across cultural boundaries, and reveals the inner relation between Russian literary theories and the contemporary studies in world literature, thus demonstrating a series of characteristics, including an accurate grasp of history, a unique inquisitive consciousness, and a broad comparative perspective. Given its enlightening significance in disclosing the internal development law of literary theories, especially in envisioning the trend of their future development, the book is clearly a masterpiece on Russian literary theories during the interwar period.

Key words: The Birth and Death of Literary Theory, Galin Tihanov, "regimes of relevance", "radical historicity", "traveling theory"