1980, the PCI publicly condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Moscow then immediately sent Georges Marchais to Rome to try to bring Berlinguer into line, but he was received with perceptible coldness. The break with the Soviets and other communist parties became clear when the PCI did not participate in the 1980 international conference of communist parties held in Paris. Instead, Berlinguer made an official visit to China. In November in Salerno, Berlinguer declared that the idea of a possible Historic Compromise had been put aside and it would be replaced with the idea of the "democratic alternative". In 1981, Berlinguer said that in his personal opinion "the progressive force of the October Revolution had been exhausted". The PCI criticised the "normalisation" of Poland and very soon the PCI's split with the Soviet Communist Party became definitive and official, followed by a long polemic between Pravda and L'Unità (the official newspaper of PCI), not made any milder after a meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana. Death Berlinguer's last major statement was a call for the solidarity among the leftist parties. On 7 June 1984 he suffered a brain haemorrhage while giving a speech at a public meeting in Padua. He entered a coma on the same day and died four days later, on 11 June. More than a million people attended his funeral Piazza San Giovanni, the largest funeral in Italy's history at the time. Reflecting his stature in Italian politics, the leaders of all parties paid tribute to his career and even the Vatican expressed condolences. Deputy Soviet leader Gorbachev and Chinese prime minister Zhao Ziyang also attended his funeral. Berlinguer's death took place six days before Italy's part of the 1984 European Parliament election. The PCI gained a significant sympathy vote as a result, winning the most votes for the only time. Analysis Berlinguer has been described in many ways, but he was generally recognised for political coherence and courage, together with a rare personal and political intelligence. A serious and morally rigorous man, he was sincerely respected even by his opponents and his three days' agony was followed with great attention by the general population. His funeral was attended by a large number of people, perhaps among the highest ever seen in Rome. The most important political act of his career in the PCI was undoubtedly the dramatic break with Soviet Communism, the so-called strappo, together