>I'm overwhelmed by the information available, most of which seems contradictory.
You should probably get used to that...
>I have read of the benefits of Russian bees, but folks here have said they can be aggressive. Furthermore, since everyone in the area has Italian bees, it is extremely likely that any virgin queen who eventually emerges from my hive (yes, I know, way down the line!) will result in hybridized bees. Should I just follow the herd into Italian bees? Thanks!
Changing the race of bees is the easiest thing in beekeeping to change. I would not lose a lot of sleep over it. But if you can get local mutts, that's what I would do. If you can't, I like Carniolans.