Life

Born in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Cosutta joined the Italian Communist Party

Italian Communist Party

The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...

 (PCI) in 1943, and took part in the Italian resistance movement

Italian resistance movement

The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...

 as a partisan

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, he became one of the leading members of the party, representing the most pro-Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 tendency; his belief in that country as the "Leading state" of communism

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

 led him to criticise Enrico Berlinguer

Enrico Berlinguer

Enrico Berlinguer was an Italian politician; he was national secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1972 until his death.-Early career:...

. Nowadays, although he does not regret the choice he made, Cossutta considers that he was mistaken in opposing Berlinguer.

Opposed to Achille Occhetto

Achille Occhetto

Achille Occhetto , nicknamed Akel, is an Italian political figure.-Biography:Occhetto was born in Turin. He served as the secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party between 1988 and 1994 Achille Occhetto (born 3 March 1936), nicknamed Akel, is an Italian political figure.-Biography:Occhetto...

's 1991 proposal to dissolve the PCI, he founded, together with Sergio Garavini

Sergio Garavini

Sergio Garavini was an Italian politician, writer and trade unionist.-Biography:Garavini was born in Turin....

, Nichi Vendola

Nichi Vendola

Nicola "Nichi" Vendola is an Italian left-wing politician and currently the President of Apulia.-Life:Born in Terlizzi, province of Bari , Vendola had been a member of the Italian Communist Youth Federation since the age of 14; he studied literature in university, presenting a dissertation about...

 and some others, the Communist Refoundation Party, of which he became the president. When Fausto Bertinotti

Fausto Bertinotti

Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...

, secretary of the party, voted against a motion of confidence to the 1996 government

Prime minister of Italy

The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...

 of Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

, Cossutta opposed his stance, and left the party along with Oliviero Diliberto

Oliviero Diliberto

Oliviero Diliberto is an Italian politician. He is the current leader of the Party of Italian Communists.- Early life :...

 and others to found the Party of Italian Communists

Party of Italian Communists

The Party of Italian Communists is a communist political party in Italy. Its long-time leader is Oliviero Diliberto.-Foundation and early years:...

.

Afterwards, Cossutta was president of the Party of Italian Communists, and Member of Parliament. He also served as Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 during the 5th European term

European Parliament election, 1999 (Italy)

The European Parliament election of 1999 in Italy was the election of the delegation from Italy to the European Parliament in 1999.-References:...

 (1999-2004).

Post-Cold War allegations

In 1991, a Russian journalist claimed, by citing documents from the Communist Party

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...

, that Cossutta received more than 2 million dollars from Russia, for propaganda reasons, during the 1980s. Cossutta dismissed these claims though, saying that he "had never received money from the Soviet Union."

In 1999, Cossutta appeared on a list of alleged Italian KGB spies

KGB

The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

. Cossutta has not been convicted.

Works

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