DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2018.4.26391

Abstract: The subject of this article is the work of the Italian airship designer Umberto Nobile in the Soviet Union in 1931-1935. Upon writing this article, the author used the memoirs of Umberto Nobile published in Italy, as well as numerous archival sources from Italian archives: the Documentation Center of Umberto Nobile in Vigna di Vale and the Central State Archives of Rome. The author attempts to demonstrate the importance of further studying this topic in light of today's newly available sources, including those from Italian archives. The methodology of this research is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematics. The author places particular focus on the interdisciplinary approach in the examination of Soviet-Italian relations in the field of aviation. In order to achieve this, the study uses the historical-genetic and comparative-historical methods, which allow to reveal the general and particular in the developmental patterns of Soviet-Italian relations in the field of aviation during the period under study. The figure of Umberto Nobile has been studied by Russian scholars for a long time, but the scientific novelty of this work comes from its novel composition of the source base. In addition to published sources (the memoirs of Umberto Nobile), the author draws archival documents in Italian from the Documentation Center "Umberto Nobile" and the Central State Archives of Rome, which have not been previously studied by Russian historians. At the end of the article, the author comes to the conclusion that during the period under review the ideological antagonism had no decisive influence on the development of cooperation between the two named countries, including in the sphere of airship construction. The arrival of Umberto Nobile and Felice Trojani in the USSR made possible the rapid development of this industry in Russia.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2018.2.25550

Abstract: The research subject of this study is the negotiations on supplying Italian aircrafts and aircraft material to the USSR in the period from 1939 to May 1941. The aim of this work is to study the little-known in Russia aspects of the Soviet Union's relations with Italy in the field of aviation. Much attention in the article is paid to the analysis of Italian archival sources. An attempt is made to show the importance of further examining this topic in light of the current development of cooperation between Russia and Italy in the sphere of culture and economy. The methodological base of this study is grounded on the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematics. Particular attention is paid to the application of the interdisciplinary approach to the study of Soviet-Italian relations in the field of aviation. For this purpose, this work utilized the historical-genetic and comparative-historical methods, which make it possible to reveal the general and particular aspects in the patterns of the development of Soviet-Italian relations in the field of aviation in the period under study. This work presents an important scientific novelty, due primarily to the source base used. The author draws new archival documents in Italian from the Central State Archives of Rome (Italy), which have not been previously studied by researchers from Russia. The author draws the conclusion that, contrary to popular opinion, during the period under study, neither the ideological antagonism nor even the Second World War that began in Europe became an obstacle to the negotiations on supplying aircrafts and aircraft equipment to the USSR, and transport of raw materials to Italy from the USSR, because, in all likelihood, Italy's economic cooperation with the Soviet Union did not directly depend on the latter's relations with Germany.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0641.2018.1.25192

Abstract: The subject of the study is relations between the USSR and Italy in the sphere of aviation in the period of 1922-1938. The author considers a number of aspects of these relations, such as the first Italian flights to the Soviet Union and the return visits of the Soviet delegations to Italy, as well as procurement of Italian aircraft and aircraft equipment by the Soviet Union. The author devotes much attention to the work of Italian aviation specialists in the Soviet Union, such as Umberto Nobile, Felice Trojani and Roberto Bartini, and refers to the sources in the Italian language. The methodological basis of the study is a comparative-historical method which contributes to identification of the general and the particular aspects in development of Soviet-Italian relations in the field of aviation at various stages. The interdisciplinary approach of the work allows the author to go beyond the technical aspects of aviation events and to include their political, ideological, cultural and propaganda components. The scientific novelty of the study is conditioned by the need for a comprehensive study of the Russian and Italian sources that cover such a strategically important sphere of relations between the two states as aviation. The author introduces new sources to scientific circulation, for instance, archival materials from "The Umberto Nobile Documentation Centre" in Italy (which have not been translated to Russian and have not previously been studied in Russia), as well as the memoirs of Italo Balbo, Felice Trojani and Umberto Nobile, which contributed to substantial extension of knowledge about the role of Soviet-Italian relations. As a result, the authors draws a conclusion that, contrary to the popular belief, the ideological confrontation was by no means an obstacle to productive and mutually beneficial cooperation in the aviation sphere in the said period.