RUSSIA-ITALY THE HISTORY OF RELATIONS RUSSIAN EMBASSY SCHOOL IN ITALY FORM 10 Teacher of English Korenkova E.M.

The idea to learn about the history of relations between two countries, Russia and Italy, came when we were discussing the visit of our president, Putin V.V, to Milan in October 2014.We interviewed the students of our school to find out what they would like to know about the topic. Here are the questions they had asked. Well try to answer them using the facts weve researched. Popov Petr Galsanov Daniil Zezulin Ivan Chilikina Yana Loginova Liza

The questions asked by the students of our school: 1. When were the first diplomatic relations between Italy and Russia established? 2. Why is the territory of the ambassador's residence called Villa Abameleck? 3. Names of which diplomats are associated with the construction of diplomatic relations between Italy and Russia? 4. What were the diplomatic relations between the countries during the First and the Second World Wars like? 5. How are the modern diplomatic relations developing?

Some historical facts Its known for sure that in 1524 Pope Clement VII sent to Moscow his representative Paolo Centuriono, who returned to Rome two years later accompanied by the Russian Ambassador Dmitry Gerasimov. The Russian representative attended the Senate, made a tour around the city. Together with Paolo Centuriono he returned to Moscow in The portrait of Basil III got to be known to Europeans at that period. It supposed the portrait was presented to Pope during Gerasimovs visit. Pope Clement VII Tsar Basil III

The Italian Renaissance ended in around 1600, but Italy remained an important centre of Western culture throughout the period. However the economic importance of Italy declined, as the Italian states played little part in the opening up of the New World, or the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. At the beginning of the XVIII century Italy was under Spanish guidance. The continuous wars between Austrian Habsburgs and Spanish Bourbons changed the map of Italy. Independent policy was conducted only by the Venice and Savoy ruling Houses. Theres a historical version that the first consulate was established in in 1711 after Peter the Great had visited the Venetian dockyards. In 1748 Russia tried to sign trade treaties with Venice but Vienna strongly resisted to these efforts being afraid of growing importance of the Russian Empire. As a result, the official diplomatic relations between Venice and the Russian Empire were established only in 1782.

At the beginning of the 19 th century there were several republics on the territory of Italy. All of hem were dependent on France. The revolutionary idea of unification was widely spread at the period. King of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel appointed Count Gaetano Balbo as an Envoy extraordinary to bring the message to Russian tsar with the request for financial help. Russian tsar Paul I sent the first rubles as a kind of support and since that time had regularly subsidized Sardinia till the year The unification of Italy in 60s of the 19 th century coincided with the abolition of serfdom in Russia. The new wave of sympathy towards Russia was great. In 1876 the missions of the two countries in Rome and St. Petersburg were transformed into embassies. Charles Emmanuel, King of Sardinia Paul I, tsar of Russia

At the beginning of the XX century important changes in the Russian- Italian relations took place thanks to appointment Count Muravyev as Russia's ambassador to Italy in As the result of the events of the First World War and the October Revolution in 1917 bilateral relations were broken off. It was only in 1924 that formal diplomatic relations were restored. The World War II caused the severance of diplomatic relations which were restored only in Russian Embassy in Rome Italian Embassy in Moscow

In 1969 Italy was the first Western country to conclude a long lasting agreement on gas supply. The basic principles of bilateral relations were reflected in the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Italian Republic, signed on October 14, In addition to an active dialogue at the highest level, there are intensive contacts between the legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Since 2000, a large Russian-Italian inter-parliamentary committee has held 11 meetings. An extensive program of activities to promote the Russian language in Italy and the Italian language in Russia, in the context of the Agreement on the study of the Russian language in the Republic of Italy and the Italian language in the Russian Federation is being implemented.

Diplomats whose names are connected with diplomatic relations with Italy At the beginning of the XX century important changes in the Russian-Italian relations took place thanks to appointment Count Muravyev as Russia's ambassador to Italy in 1906.Count Muravyev, a clever and energetic diplomat, was a distant relative and political associate of Alexander Isvolsky, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Russia at that period. Isvolsky used to be the Minister Resident in the Vatican and knew Italian business very well. Alexander Isvolsky Nikolay Muravyev

Nikolay Valerianovich Muraviev or Muravyov (Russian: Никола́й Валериа́нович Муравьёв) ( ) was an Imperial Russian politician, nephew of the famed Count Nicolay Muravyev-Amursky, explorer and Governor General of the Russian Far East.Russian Muraviev was a graduate of both the University of Saint Petersburgh and the University of Moscow. Early in his career he was a noted lecturer on criminal law at the University of Moscow and served in various positions within the judiciary. He came to prominence after successfully prosecuting the assassins of Emperor Alexander II. In 1892 he was appointed Imperial Secretary. He served as Minister of Justice from 1894 to early He was appointed Ambassador to Italy in 1905 and served until his death in 1908.

Anatoly Nikolaevich Krupensky was born on November 3,1850 in Kishinev. He was Secretary to the Embassy in Austria-Hungary, great Britain, Italy. Also Anatoly Nikolaevich was Ambassador to Italy from 1912 to He died in Rome in 1923 and was buried at the cemetery in Testaccio. Lunkov Nikolai Mitrofanovich was born on January 7, 1919.He was an adviser to the embassies in Germany, Sweden, the UK. He was the Ambassador tothe UK, Norway, Malta. For 10 years from 18 November 1980 to 12 April 1990 Nikolai Mitrofanovich was the Ambassador to Italy. He is on pension in Moscow now.

Sergei Sergeevich Razov is the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Italy at present time. Sergei Sergeevich was the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Mongolia, Poland, China. He is the Candidate of Economic Sciences. Sergei Sergeevich speaks English, Chinese and Polish. Sergei Sergeevich was awarded the Order of Honor and the Order of Friendship for great contribution to the foreign policy and ensuring Russia's national interests, the courage and selflessness on duty.

Villa Abameleck Villa Abamelek, the official residence of the Russian ambassador to Italy, is named after its last owner - Russian Prince Semen Semenovich Abamelek-Lazarev. This is a typical urban estate. The size of its area is surprisingly big -about 33.8 hectares. At the same time it is located in the heart of Rome, over the hill Gianicolo, close to the famous Villa Doria Pamphili, dated back to the XVI century.

Under the villa Abamelek (even not all critics know about it) theres a tunnel with a railway line 700 meters long, connecting the Vatican with a network of roads of Italy, as the pontiff - nearest neighbor inhabitants of Abamelek. And the hill on which the villa is located has its own history. In ancient Rome, this place used to be cemetery of gladiators killed in the circus of Nero. During archaeological excavations at the villa several gravestones with the Latin inscription: «Corpus custodes Nerone» were found.

In the Middle Ages this picturesque corner of the Tiber was chosen by the Roman nobles who built their country residences here. There are vineyards and orchards, and the land itself belonged to several owners. Prince Abamelek bought this patch of land and created luxurious architectural and park ensemble. He kept a rich collection of paintings, tapestries, antique mosaics, antique marble and wood carvings here. The villa was famous for rescheduled park planted with beautiful trees and shrubs, decorated with antique sculptures, marble Roman baths, fountains and amphoraes. Since 1947, Villa Abamelek has been the official residence of the Russian ambassador to Italy.

Villa Abameleck has a few brick buildings. The most significant is the old Belvedere Palace, the Theatre for carnival performances, built in the XVIII century, and a large building of stables with a spectacular architectural and sculptural decoration and an adjoining fountain. Prince Abameleck hired fashionable Roman architect Vincenco Monaldi, who worked both at the restoration, building renovation and beautification of the park of the villa, and at its interior. He bought antique marble, mosaics, sculptures, Flemish tapestries of XVI-XVII centuries, paintings by old masters, antique furniture.

A three-storey palace with a lookout tower on the roof, from which came the name - Belvedere - was restored first. Preserving the ancient frescoes and partly layout, the palace became a magnificent building. The Prince decided to revive and expand the theater building, which is called the Palace of the Muses. Maria Pavlovna ( his wife)before the marriage took music lessons with composer Balakirev, played music and sang beautifully. Seriously engaged in classical dance, she was taught by the former actress of the Imperial Ballet, who lived in their home in St. Petersburg.

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