The article is devoted to the U.S. visa limitation policy concerning members of the Italian and French communist parties in 1975-1977. Adjustment of procedures of issuing of entrance visas by the United States to Italian and French communists (first of all to the party leaders, communists-parliamentarians, employees of the International departments, local and regional functionaries, correspondents of the party editions) was not considered in foreign, Soviet and Russian historiography separately from contact policy of U.S. foreign policy leaders and experts with members of the Communist Party of Italy (PCI) and France (PCF). The novelty of this study lies in the fact that on the basis of a wide range of sources and historiography the key elements of the U.S. non-immigrant visa policy for Italian and French Communists in 1975-1977 are defined, the main features of “hard” and “flexible” approaches to the PCI and PCF in the context of U.S. visa policy are concretized. In the course of the study the stages of visa policy adjustment are highlighted and disclosed, its impact on the relationship between the U.S. and the Western European segment of the International Communist Movement is shown. On the basis of the available sources and scientific literature it is possible to conclude, that the revision of entry visas to the United States for the Italian and French communists in 1977 has allowed to establish a dialogue between the American diplomats, journalists, international experts, on the one hand, and the functionaries of the PCI/PCF, on the other hand.
|
