Armando Cossutta

Armando Cossutta (2 September 1926 – 14 December 2015) was an Italian communist politician.

Armando Cossutta
Member of the Senate
In office
25 May 1972 – 14 April 1994
In office
27 April 2006 – 28 April 2008
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
14 April 1994 – 27 April 2006
Personal details
Born(1926-09-02)2 September 1926
Milan, Italy
Died14 December 2015(2015-12-14) (aged 89)
Rome, Italy
NationalityItalian
Political partyPCI (till 1991)
PRC (1991–1998)
PdCI (1998–2007)
OccupationJournalist, politician

Biography

Born in Milan, Cossutta joined the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement as a partisan. After World War II, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union tendency; his belief in that country as the "Leading state" of communism led him to criticize Enrico Berlinguer. Later in life, although he did not regret the choice he made, Cossutta considered that he was mistaken in opposing Berlinguer.

Opposed to Achille Occhetto's 1991 proposal to dissolve the PCI, he founded, together with Sergio Garavini, Nichi Vendola and some others, the Communist Refoundation Party, of which he became the president.[1][2][3] When Fausto Bertinotti, secretary of the party, voted against a motion of confidence to the 1996 government of Romano Prodi, Cossutta opposed his stance, and left the party along with Oliviero Diliberto and others to found the Party of Italian Communists.[4]

Afterwards, Cossutta was president of the Party of Italian Communists, and Member of Parliament. He also served as Member of the European Parliament during the 5th European term (1999–2004). He died on 14 December 2015 in Rome.[4][5]

He was an atheist.[6]

Post-Cold War allegations

In 1991, a Russian journalist claimed, by citing documents from the Communist Party, that Cossutta received more than 2 million dollars from Russia, for propaganda reasons, during the 1980s.[7][8] Cossutta dismissed these claims though, saying that he "had never received money from the Soviet Union."[7][9]

In 1999, Cossutta appeared on a list of alleged Italian KGB spies.[10]

References
  1. "Addio ad Armando Cossutta". l'Espresso (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. Charalambous, Giorgos (2016-07-22). European Integration and the Communist Dilemma: Communist Party Responses to Europe in Greece, Cyprus and Italy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-13950-8.
  3. Boucek, Françoise (2012-10-29). Factional Politics: How Dominant Parties Implode or Stabilize. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-28392-4.
  4. "È morto Armando Cossutta". Il Post (in Italian). 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  5. "Morto Cossutta, il più filosovietico dei comunisti italiani". La Repubblica (in Italian). 15 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  6. Armando Cossutta, Gianni Montesano, Una storia comunista, Rizzoli, 2004, p. 40.
  7. Commissione parlamentare (2006). "DOCUMENTO CONCLUSIVO; SULL'ATTIVITÀ SVOLTA E SUI RISULTATI DELLIINCHIESTA" (PDF). Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. D 'ARCAIS, ALBERTO FLORES (October 12, 1991). "' IL PCUS VERSO' A COSSUTTA PIU' DI UN MILIARDO NELL' 86' - la Repubblica.it". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  9. MARRONI, STEFANO (October 13, 1991). "LA GUERRA DEI RUBLI". Archivio - la Repubblica.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  10. "Italy 'KGB spies' named". BBC News. 1999-10-12.

Works
  • Vecchio e nuovo corso. Vangelista, Milano.
  • Dissenso e unità. Teti, Milano, 1986.
  • Una storia comunista (with Gianni Montesano). Rizzoli, Milano, 2004.
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