Russian-Italian cooperation has deep roots and rich history. Bilateral cooperation in the economic sphere has become the basis for developing open and friendly relations, which former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini often called «privileged». The article examines the origins and history of the relationship, dynamics and main areas of economic partnership between two states. The principles of EU policy and Euro-Atlantic solidarity limit the Italian authorities to pursue a policy of ensuring their national interests, thus affecting the interaction with Russia. The decline in Italian-Russian trade in the first four months of 2020 became an obvious economic consequence of the extreme epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the new coronavirus infection. So far, the available data do not fully provide a complete picture caused by the asymmetric shock of the same magnitude. Nevertheless, the positions of the Russian and Italian sides are similar concerning overcoming this difficult period and the main task of which is to find a way out of the crisis with minimal losses for both countries without losing a positive and constructive mutually beneficial dialogue. Today Moscow is the leader in the volume of accumulated Italian investments in the Russian economy. With the participation of Italian companies in the capital, advanced infrastructure and urban development projects are being implemented.
Russian-Italian relations; trade and economic cooperation; sanctions; turnover; Russian-Italian trade turnover; international relations of Moscow; Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce.