Le relazioni fra Italia e Urss nella prima fase della distensione

- The relations between Italy and the Ussr, almost absent after WWII began to grow during the years of détente. Their development offers useful insight on the long-term cleavages which led to the fall of the Soviet Union. The documents, published here for the first time, come from Rgani (State Archive of Contemporary History of the Russian Federation) and offer an outline of the crucial period in the mid-1960s. From them, it is possible to grasp the main elements of the Ussr's foreign policy towards Italy: the central role of an explorative diplomacy; a negative attitude towards the center-left governments; the close relations with the large Italian industrial groups; the lasting centrality of the political link with Pci; and, above all, the firm belief of the Kremlin leadership that the economic and cultural détente would have, in the long run, deep political effects. They were right; what they weren't able to predict is that they would be the losers.Key words: Cold War, Détente, European security, economic diplomacy, Center left governements, Cpsu/Cpi.Parole chiave: guerra fredda, distensione, sicurezza europea, diplomazia economica, governi di centrosinistra, Pcus/Pci.