Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2025-7-4-214-233 Research Article Articles Paradoxes of Bibliophilia and Fetishization of Books in V. I. Taneyev’s Literary Heritage Mikhailova Maria V. red@rusklassika.ru 25 12 2025 7 4 214 233 V. I. Taneyev library reading book psychology reception bibliophilia Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The name of Vladimir Ivanovich Taneyev (1840–1921), brother of the renowned musician and composer Sergei Taneyev, has largely disappeared from philosophical and philological discourse over the past 50 years; however even before then, his works were rarely the subject of scholarly study. This stems from the scholar’s straightforwardness, his reluctance to grasp the changes that shaped the philosophical landscape at the turn of the 20th century, and his entrenched positivist approach to phenomena. However, a completely different image of the thinker emerges in his memoirs, which are analyzed in this article. The structure of Taneyev’s memoirs, his subtlety of perception, and his ability to discern people speak of an undeniable gift for writing, which, combined with meticulousness and disciplined thought, yielded the most extraordinary and unexpected results. The article argues that Taneyev’s writing ability was greatly enhanced by his exposure to literary works, the opinions of which he conveys to potential readers. 1. Baskin, M. P. “V. I. Taneev” [“V. I. Taneyev”]. Taneev, V. I. Detstvo. Iunost’. Mysli o budushchem [Childhood. Youth. Thoughts About the Future]. Moscow, Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union Publ., 1959, pp. 3–45. (In Russ.) 2. Evstigneeva, L. A. “Iz vospominanii V. I. Taneeva” [“From the Memoirs of V. I. Taneyev”]. Literaturnoe nasledstvo [Literary Heritage], vol. 71: Vasilii Sleptsov, neizvestnye stranitsy [Vasily Sleptsov, Unknown Pages]. Moscow, Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union Publ., 1963, pp. 513–526. (In Russ.) 3. Koz’min, B. P. “Sotsial’no-politicheskie i filosofskie vzgliady V. I. Taneeva” [“Socio- Political and Philosophical Views of V. I. Taneyev”]. Al’tman, V. V., editor. Iz istorii sotsial’no­politicheskikh idei [From the History of Socio­Political Ideas]. Moscow, Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union Publ., 1955, pp. 664–673. (In Russ.) 4. Morozov, P. M. Vladimir Ivanovich Taneev: zhizn’ i deiatel’nost’ [Vladimir Ivanovich Taneyev: Life and Work: PhD Dissertation]. Saratov, 2011. 22 p. (In Russ.) 5. Shkurinov, P. S. Filosofskie vzgliady V. I. Taneeva [Philosophical Views of V. I. Taneyev]. Moscow, Moscow State University Publ., 1962. 131 p. (In Russ.) 6. Shkurinov, P. S. Kritika pozitivizma V. I. Taneevym [Taneyev’s Criticism of Positivism]. Moscow, Moscow State University Publ., 1965. 104 p. (In Russ.) 7. Shkurinov, P. S. “Poeticheskoe nasledie publitsista i filosofa V. I. Taneeva” [“The Poetic Legacy of the Publicist and Philosopher V. I. Taneyev”]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia: Filologiia, no. 5, 1966, pp. 71–80. (In Russ.)