In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the dialogue between the USSR and Italy intensified. This was especially true for the development of economic cooperation. Bilateral trade was actively developing, and by the end of the 1950s, Italy was able to take the first place in the world in terms of purchases of Soviet oil. There have been significant improvements in terms of cultural exchange. The political sphere was developing less dynamically. However, there is also a more intensive exchange of visits by high-ranking politicians. The strengthening of leftist elements within the ruling Christian Democracy (DC) in Italy, closely linked to the neo-Atlantist agenda, led to Italy trying to play a more active mediation role in the dialogue between East and West (between the USSR and the USA), which was especially evident during the Berlin crisis. At the same time, these same politicians inside the country relied on a center-left policy and a so-called “opening to the left”, which was supposed to help isolate the Italian Communist Party (PCI), which was the second most powerful political party in Italy and at that time was in close cooperation with the CPSU.
German Gigolaev (Wed,) studied this question.