ENRICO BERLINGUER

The Italian Communists were culturally and ideologically very different from the Russian Communists. The Italian view was a more nationalistic one and was closer to a Socialist Democracy than a “dictatorship of the proletariat”. Much more tolerant of diversity and not as ideological. Berlinguer and some of the other leaders realized that Italy was always in danger of a Russian takeover since there was such a difference in views about Communism. They had seen how the Red Army had become a political enforcement vehicle and they had been leaders of the fight to unseat Mussolini and wanted to avoid totalitarianism. They understood that NATO with its forces and nuclear umbrella was the only force that could keep Italy free of the Russians decided to move. This is one of the reasons why the Italian Communist Party was not banned in Italy.

The “October Revolution” was the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Italian Communists were culturally and ideologically very different from the Russian Communists. The Italian view was a more nationalistic one and was closer to a Socialist Democracy than a “dictatorship of the proletariat”. Much more tolerant of diversity and not as ideological. See {637829} as a big example of the difference. Yet this was still in the midst of the Red Scare in America and some other areas of the West. After WWII, the CIA had secretly spent millions to get Italians to vote for the non-Communist candidates and helped organize Italian anti-Communist politicians who didn’t want the Communists to alter the Italian government to reflect any Communist or Socialist ideas. Meanwhile, the Italian party was under great pressure from Russia and some of the other Communist satellite countries to adopt a hardline revolutionary communist programs. Berlinquer and other Italian Communist leaders had many misgivings about Russian style Communism and they had to play off one side against the other for years.

The Italian Communists were culturally and ideologically very different from the Russian Communists. The Italian view was a more nationalistic one and was closer to a Socialist Democracy than a “dictatorship of the proletariat”. Much more tolerant of diversity and not as ideological. See {637829} as a big example of the difference. Yet this was still in the midst of the Red Scare in America and some other areas of the West. After WWII, the CIA had secretly spent millions to get Italians to vote for the non-Communist candidates and helped organize Italian anti-Communist politicians who didn’t want the Communists to alter the Italian government to reflect any Communist or Socialist ideas. Meanwhile, the Italian party was under great pressure from Russia and some of the other Communist satellite countries to adopt a hardline revolutionary communist programs. Berlinquer and other Italian Communist leaders had many misgivings about Russian style Communism and they had to play off one side against the other for years.

The Italian Communists were culturally and ideologically very different from the Russian Communists. The Italian view was a more nationalistic one and was closer to a Socialist Democracy than a “dictatorship of the proletariat”. Much more tolerant of diversity and not as ideological. Berlinguer and some of the other leaders realized that Italy was always in danger of a Russian takeover since there was such a difference in views about Communism. They had seen how the Red Army had become a political enforcement vehicle and they had been leaders of the fight to unseat Mussolini and wanted to avoid totalitarianism. They understood that NATO with its forces and nuclear umbrella was the only force that could keep Italy free of the Russians decided to move. This is one of the reasons why the Italian Communist Party was not banned in Italy.

The “October Revolution” was the Russian Revolution of 1917.