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===Russian Empire===
===Russian Empire===
Italian merchants flourished in [[Odessa]] in the 19th century. They helped develop commercial shipping in the Black Sea. They took an active role in the public and cultural life of the city and initiated projects for the improvement of business conditions in Odessa.<ref>Olena Fedenko, "The Activity of the Italian Merchants in Odessa during the XIXth Century." ''Danubius'' 34.2 (2016): 31-42 [http://www.revistadanubius.ro/pdf/rezumate/en/XXXIVs/04_olena_fedenko.pdf online].</ref>

===Italian-Soviet relations===
===Italian-Soviet relations===
The governments of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Italy and [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Soviet Union]] recognized each other as ''de jure'' governments of their respective countries and established diplomatic relations on 7 February 1924 (shortly after the death of [[Vladimir Lenin]]). A preliminary agreement had been made on 26 December 1921, ''de facto'' recognizing the Soviet Union.{{cn|date=February 2020}} The two states signed a ''[[Treaty on Friendship, Non-Aggression and Neutrality]]'' on 2 September 1933, and although the treaty formally remained in effect until the [[Declarations of war during World War II|Italian declaration of war against the Soviet Union]] on 22 June 1941, relations had already degraded with the advent of the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italo-Ethiopian War]] and the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Jay|title=ITALO-SOVIET MILITARY COOPERATION IN 1933 AND 1934: MANIFESTATIONS OF CORDIALITY|url=https://www.academia.edu/5947459/ITALO-SOVIET_MILITARY_COOPERATION_IN_1933_AND_1934_MANIFESTATIONS_OF_CORDIALITY|journal=Paper Presented to the Duquesne History Forum|language=en}}</ref>
The governments of [[Benito Mussolini]]'s Italy and [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Soviet Union]] recognized each other as ''de jure'' governments of their respective countries and established diplomatic relations on 7 February 1924 (shortly after the death of [[Vladimir Lenin]]). A preliminary agreement had been made on 26 December 1921, ''de facto'' recognizing the Soviet Union.{{cn|date=February 2020}} The two states signed a ''[[Treaty on Friendship, Non-Aggression and Neutrality]]'' on 2 September 1933, and although the treaty formally remained in effect until the [[Declarations of war during World War II|Italian declaration of war against the Soviet Union]] on 22 June 1941, relations had already degraded with the advent of the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italo-Ethiopian War]] and the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clarke|first=Jay|title=ITALO-SOVIET MILITARY COOPERATION IN 1933 AND 1934: MANIFESTATIONS OF CORDIALITY|url=https://www.academia.edu/5947459/ITALO-SOVIET_MILITARY_COOPERATION_IN_1933_AND_1934_MANIFESTATIONS_OF_CORDIALITY|journal=Paper Presented to the Duquesne History Forum|language=en}}</ref>

Revision as of 16:38, 17 May 2020

Italy–Russia relations
Map indicating locations of Italy and Russia

Italy
Russia
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, 24 October 2018.

Italy–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the two countries, embodied in the so-called privileged relationship.[1][2][3]

General

Russia has an embassy in Rome and consulates in Genoa, Milan and Palermo, and Italy has an embassy in Moscow, a consulate in Saint Petersburg, two consulte generals (in Ekaterinburg and Kaliningrad), and two embassy branches (in Samara and Volgograd). Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

History

The relationship between Russia and Italy goes back a long way.

Russian Empire

Italian merchants flourished in Odessa in the 19th century. They helped develop commercial shipping in the Black Sea. They took an active role in the public and cultural life of the city and initiated projects for the improvement of business conditions in Odessa.[4]

Italian-Soviet relations

The governments of Benito Mussolini's Italy and Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union recognized each other as de jure governments of their respective countries and established diplomatic relations on 7 February 1924 (shortly after the death of Vladimir Lenin). A preliminary agreement had been made on 26 December 1921, de facto recognizing the Soviet Union.[citation needed] The two states signed a Treaty on Friendship, Non-Aggression and Neutrality on 2 September 1933, and although the treaty formally remained in effect until the Italian declaration of war against the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, relations had already degraded with the advent of the Italo-Ethiopian War and the Spanish Civil War.[5]

Even during World War II, when Italy was on Germany's side fighting against USSR, Italian troops were known for treating Soviet civilians much better than the Germans did. After the Italians signed an act of surrender to the Allied powers of World War II on 29 September 1943, at the Three Powers Conference in Moscow, the Soviets, Americans and British adopted the Declaration Regarding Italy, within which they agreed to the overthrow of Fascism in Italy, the barring of Fascists from public life and setting up "democratic organs." The Soviet Union restored full diplomatic relations with Italy on 25 October 1944. A treaty on trade and navigation was signed on 11 December 1948.

Already in the 1960s, Italy's FIAT built a car-assembling plant in the Soviet city of Tolyatti (a city named after the Italian Communist Party's secretary Palmiro Togliatti). Finally, for a long time Italy had the largest communist party in the Western world, with over 2 million members.

Russian Federation

In 2006, Russia and Italy signed a protocol of cooperation for fighting crime and defending civil liberties. There are close commercial ties between the two countries. Italy is Russia's second most important commercial partner in the EU, after Germany, and its state-owned energy company, ENI, has recently signed a large long-term contract with Gazprom to import Russian gas into Italy.

In modern times, Russia has continued to have a privileged relationship[6] with Italy. The Silvio Berlusconi Governments (2001–2006 and 2008-2011) strengthened Italy's ties with Russia, due to his personal friendship with President Vladimir Putin. Cooperation extends also to the aviation sector, between Italy's Alenia and Russia's Sukhoi, who are jointly developing a new aircraft. Russians have always visited Italy in great numbers.

In 2017 United Russia, the party of Vladimir Putin, signed a deal with the Northern League, strengthening their political cooperation.[7]

Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the PD party, suggested that Russian-backed organizations[8] may have been promulgating fake news in Italy in order to influence electoral outcomes[9][10], and accused the Five Stars Movement to spread information supportive of the Russian government and its foreign policy.[11][10] In December 2017, former US Vice President Joe Biden accused Russia of helping the opposition parties Five Stars Movement and Lega Nord.[12] In March 2018, the Italian government led by Paolo Gentiloni expelled 2 Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning case in the United Kingdom[13]

The parties that won the recent 2018 election and formed a coalition government, the Lega Nord and Five Star Movement, have been giving voice to the Italian industry's discontent with American and European sanctions on Russia.[14][10], and plan to improve relations between the two states by lifting the sanctions imposed as a consequence of the 2014 Ukrainian crisis. The incumbent Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, has said he "will support an opening towards Russia as sanctions are damaging Italy’s economy."[15]

On 22 March 2020, after a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Russian president Vladimir Putin arranged the Russian army to send military medics, special disinfection vehicles and other medical equipment to Italy, which was the European country hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ Paolo Valentino. "Gentiloni - Dialogue with Russia Continues". Corriere.it. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  2. ^ "Interview toб═theб═Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera Б─╒ President ofб═Russia". En.kremlin.ru. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  3. ^ "IAI Istituto Affari Internazionali". Iai.it (in Italian). 2016-09-15. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  4. ^ Olena Fedenko, "The Activity of the Italian Merchants in Odessa during the XIXth Century." Danubius 34.2 (2016): 31-42 online.
  5. ^ Clarke, Jay. "ITALO-SOVIET MILITARY COOPERATION IN 1933 AND 1934: MANIFESTATIONS OF CORDIALITY". Paper Presented to the Duquesne History Forum.
  6. ^ "Relations between Italy and Russia". Esteri.it. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  7. ^ Sharkov, Damien (March 3, 2017). "Russia's Ruling Party Strikes Cooperation Deal With Italian Euroskeptics". Newsweek.
  8. ^ Iacoboni, Jacopo (November 2, 2017). "La propaganda russa all'offensiva anti-Renzi. E il web grillino rilancia". La Stampa. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  9. ^ Horowitz, Jason (December 2, 2017). "Spread of Fake News Provokes Anxiety in Italy". The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c Horowitz, Jason (May 29, 2017). "With Italy No Longer in U.S. Focus, Russia Swoops to Fill the Void". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Nardelli, Alberto; Silverman, Craig (November 29, 2016). "Italy's Most Popular Political Party Is Leading Europe In Fake News And Kremlin Propaganda". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  12. ^ Biden: "Referendum costituzionale, la Russia ha aiutato Lega e M5s". La replica: "Insinuazioni inaccettabili" 08 dicembre 2017 la Repubblica
  13. ^ Washington, Giuseppe Sarcina, corrispondente da. "Caso della ex spia avvelenata: Usa e 14 Stati Ue espellono diplomatici russi". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-07-13.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Benner, Thorsten (September 15, 2017). "An Era of Authoritarian Influence?". Foreign Affairs.
  15. ^ http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/06/08/564289/NATOUSIran-dealRussia
  16. ^ "Russian army to send coronavirus help to Italy after Putin phone call". Reuters. 22 March 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Relations of Italy and Russia.
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