On the Eve of the Messina Earthquake: The Visit of a Detachment of Ships to Italy in 1908 for a Training Voyage

Currently, relations between Russia and Italy are experiencing another period of cooling, which hinders interaction at the level of governmental structures. Therefore, it is relevant to study the topic of establishing intercultural dialogue aimed at the prospect of implementing a positive scenario for establishing relations in the future. Of particular interest are the tools used for similar purposes in previous eras. The article covers one such tool — the visit to Italy in early 1908 of a separate detachment of ships assigned to carry midshipmen on a training voyage. It was the second voyage, organized by the Russian Navy Department for such purposes.  This is a little-studied topic and the aim of the study is to assess the role of the visit of this detachment in the establishment of relations between Russia and Italy. The objectives of the study are, including on the basis of previously unstudied documents; 1) to describe the key issues of interaction between the two countries at the beginning of the 20th century and look into the historical and cultural background of the visit; 2) to highlight and analyze the communicative aspect of the process of maintaining mutual interests during the visit; 3) to supplement the existing information on the mutual assessments of representatives of Russia and Italy that developed during and as a result of the visit. The methodological basis of the research is the principle of historicism, it was conducted using historical-genetic and historical-systemic methods. The materials of the study were historical documents, including a number of  fragments of official documents and memoirs stored in the Russian State Archive of the Navy and the Russian State Historical Archive, as well as one published source. The combination of historical sources of official and personal origin made it possible to look at the visit from different angles. As a result of the conducted research, a conclusion was made about the ambivalent nature of the intercultural interaction that took place during this meeting: its consequences were not of a breakthrough nature, but at the same time they provided the very possibility of future interaction. It is shown that the historical and cultural background of the visit was dual: from an economic and political point of view, there was mutual interest, but this was not the interest of partners, but rather the interest of not unfriendly players, whose mutual benefit did not yet outweigh mutual distrust. An analysis of the communicative component of interaction during the visit showed a pronounced diplomatic interest in maintaining “contact for the sake of contact,” ensured by the efforts of official representatives of the parties. At the same time, the semi-official and unofficial parts of the visit were significantly friendlier and relied heavily on cultural ties of the past. Based on the report of the detachment commander, Rear Admiral A. A. Eberhard, written following communication with the Italian royal family and representatives of the country's elite, it was concluded that both in government circles and in public opinion in the country, a wary attitude towards Russia prevailed. The Rear Admiral believed that the friendly reception at all levels demonstrated that the Italian authorities were committed to further developing contacts. At the same time, an analysis of the memoirs of two midshipmen on the ships of the detachment showed that there were no communication difficulties at their level. The detachment's diplomatic mission was overshadowed by the events of late 1908, related to the assistance of Russian ships to those affected by the earthquake in Messina. It turned out to be a kind of touchstone in establishing relations between the two countries. Through the analysis of previously unpublished documents, it was revealed that the specificity of the position of the military leadership of the detachment consisted in understanding the difficulties of refraction of positive personal contacts into promising political projects. At the same time, the efforts and attention of both sides were directed at maintaining communication as a condition for further interaction between representatives of the two cultures, which in itself turned out to be productive, despite the difficult political conditions.

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