Activities of comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement (1930-1931)

Comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh's real name is Nguyen Dinh Bien, born on July 15, 1910 in a family with a tradition of loyalty and patriotism in Co Dan village, Dang Xa commune (now hamlet 12, Phuc Tho commune), Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province. Comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh is the 15th generation descendant of the ancestor Grand Tutor Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi.

As a child, Nguyen Dinh Bien was tutored by his father, the bachelor Nguyen Dinh Tiep, and then studied the national language at Dang Xa. Being intelligent and bright, good at both Chinese and French, at the age of 12, Nguyen Dinh Bien was sent by his family to study at Vinh National School.

On July 14, 1925, the Vietnam Restoration Association was established with the mission of focusing on developing the organization domestically, while at the same time, establishing contact with patriotic organizations and individuals abroad. Progressive books and newspapers of the time were quickly disseminated widely:“…Mr. Ha Huy Tap, Tran Phu, and Tran Van Tang took advantage of the movement to spread the national language to organize classes to teach the national language to spread patriotic ideas… The movement to read books and newspapers advocated by the Phuc Viet Association spread more and more widely and gathered a large number of people with patriotic and progressive ideas among the masses, especially the intellectual youth, students, and petty bourgeoisie…” [1].

The Association's activities had a positive impact on educating students about patriotism and hatred of colonial invaders, including the young man Nguyen Dinh Bien. Having access to books, newspapers, progressive national salvation ideas, and being guided by teacher Tran Phu as well as making friends with many fellow students with revolutionary aspirations, the student Nguyen Dinh Bien soon joined the student movement against colonial feudal oppression, demanding freedom of political activities in Vinh such as: attending the memorial service for patriotic scholar Phan Chu Trinh, signing the petition demanding the French colonialists to release Phan Boi Chau...

In 1927, when he was just 17 years old, he joined the Vietnam Revolutionary Party (the new name of the Phuc Viet Association), and was then assigned by the organization to operate in Saigon - Gia Dinh. To avoid being hunted down by secret police, he changed his name from Nguyen Dinh Bien to Nguyen Duy Trinh - a name that followed him throughout his life of steadfast revolutionary activities. At the end of 1928, Nguyen Duy Trinh was arrested by the French at a Tan Viet office in Saigon. Unable to obtain any information, in July 1930, the Governor of Cochinchina (Jean-Félix Krautheimer) signed a decree to deport Nguyen Duy Trinh to his hometown.

In August 1930, he returned to his hometown when the revolutionary movement in Nghe Tinh under the leadership of the Party was at its fiercest stage. The economic struggle combined with political struggle brought the people's demands to a "small-scale riot" nature, disintegrating the colonial and feudal government apparatus in villages and communes.

Immediately after returning home, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh secretly contacted local Party cells [2] and continued to devote his youth to the cause of liberating his homeland under the Party's flag.

After the demonstration of the people of Hung Nguyen was bloodily suppressed by the French colonial government on September 12, 1930, the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee launched a major struggle throughout the province to demonstrate solidarity between the districts and communes of Nghe Tinh and to celebrate the success of the Russian October Revolution. Party cells such as Co Dan, Kim Khe, Song Loc, etc. called on and mobilized the people in the district to coordinate many demonstrations to demonstrate power, punish and warn the lackeys and feudalists.

In Dang Xa, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and other party members directly mobilized and led the people in general solidarity to rise up and carry out many struggles. Typically, on September 20, 1930, there was a rally in Con Mo, Co Bai, arresting counter-revolutionary chiefs and warning them, then marching to Cua Hoi to destroy the French liquor agency, demanding that the "xi nhan" chief not harass the people, demanding that the military officer in charge of the garrison stop controlling and collecting taxes on people's boats entering and leaving Cua Hoi; the speech rally on October 5 of more than 300 people gathered in Dang Xa and neighboring villages to demonstrate and march to suppress the secret agent in Buong village...

Panicked by the increasingly strong development of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, the French colonialists and the Southern Dynasty feudalists were extremely afraid and frantically responded with sinister plots and white terror policies. With the policy of "If you have Nghe Tinh, you will not be rich, if you do not have Nghe Tinh, you will not be poor", they implemented a series of policies of killing and destroying everything in order to suppress the Nghe Tinh revolutionary movement in general and Nghi Loc in particular. At this time, the Nghi Loc District Party Committee office in Van Loc village was bombarded by the enemy and moved to Ong La village (Nghi Long).

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On December 28, 1930, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh once again stood shoulder to shoulder with the Party committees in the district to lead the Red Peasant Association, the Women's Liberation Association, the Communist Youth Union... to mobilize people to attend the memorial service for the fallen soldiers, organized by the Central Region Party Committee in coordination with the Vinh Provincial Party Committee at Dam Mu Nuoi in Loc Da village (Hung Loc). Thousands of Nghi Loc people, along with factory workers, Vinh - Ben Thuy city people and Hung Nguyen district people gathered here to attend the ceremony.

This movement was reflected by comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc in the article "Red Nghe Tinh" sent to the Oriental Department of the Communist International on February 19, 1931. The writer“… 4,000 workers from Vinh city and farmers from Hung Nguyen and Nghi Loc attended the memorial service for the soldiers who died on December 11, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Guangzhou Commune. A hammer and sickle flag was hung on an altar filled with flowers and incense, surrounded by 100 red flags and a string of 200 red lights... Bombs, machine guns, burning houses, military posts (28 new posts were built in Nghe An alone), government propaganda, the press... were all powerless to extinguish the revolutionary movement of Nghe - Tinh…[3]

After this event, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and the Party cell secretaries, comrades in charge of the Red Farmers' Association of Dang Xa quickly held a meeting in Loc Chau village, Nghi Xuan. On the morning of January 2, 1931, comrades Hoang Van Tam, Nguyen Duy Trinh, Nguyen Thi Phuc, Nguyen Huu Co... held a meeting at Phuong Cuong temple to discuss the plan to borrow rice from landlords and the rich to help the people starve, and to oppose all means of forcing the yellow flag and receiving surrender cards from the protectorate government.

While the conference was in session, District Chief Ton That Hoan sent soldiers to the house of the village chief of Song Loc village to suppress the masses and arrest two revolutionary families. Hearing that the General Committee Dang Xa had called off the conference, he quickly mobilized the people of the villages to demonstrate and free these two families. After only two or three hours, more than 400 people from My Chiem, Van Trach, Phuong Cuong, Yen Lac (Nghi Phong) villages gathered at Ky Tu pagoda and more than 200 people from Kim Khe commune gathered at Xam market communal house, carrying sticks, spears, drums, and drumsticks, and rushed down to coordinate with the demonstrations of Dang Xa, Thuong Xa, and Song Loc communes...

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With great hatred, the revolutionary spirit seethed with the masses and they rose up to kill the district chief Ton That Hoan, the deputy chief Dang Xa, the deputy village chief, the Song Loc village delegation and five soldiers in front of the banyan tree of Chinh Vi temple.

This action of the people went beyond the policy of the leaders. Faced with that situation, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and comrades in the Dang Xa General Committee led the Party cells and the Executive Committee of the Red Peasants' Association to hold an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures. Implementing the policy of the Party cells, the red self-defense teams guarded the crossroads, destroyed bridges on the Cua Hoi - Vinh and Cua Hoi - Cua Lo roads to prevent the enemy's repressive march from Vinh down and from Thuong Xa station up.

Next, the District Party Committee sent cadres to coordinate with the Party cells, on the one hand sending the exposed cadres and party members to operate elsewhere, meeting with members of the Red Peasant Association to discuss the plan to deal with the enemy's suppression, and preparing the people for the struggle. In the evening, receiving orders from the consul and the Governor of Nghe An, the warden Pơ-ty brought 16 soldiers in green uniforms to Song Loc village. According to the plan, the Red Peasant Association beat drums and gongs, and the people, old and young, men and women, some with knives, some with shoulder poles, some with sticks, poured into the streets to protest and fight. All night long, from the warden to the soldiers, all remained motionless.

Upon receiving the report, the Central Region Party Committee immediately distributed leaflets calling for and placing responsibility on Party committees at all levels to “defend our brothers in Nghi Loc and overthrow the terrorist policy of French imperialism” by all means. Responding to the call of the Central Region Party Committee, the movement to defend the people of Nghi Loc broke out strongly throughout the province.

In Nghi Loc, in addition to distributing leaflets, organizing rallies, demonstrations, and demonstrating solidarity in the fight, in many places, the Party cell led the Red Farmers' Association to raise money, rice, blankets, and mats to help families in Song Loc and Tan Hop that were burned by the enemy. The people of the villages relied on each other to maintain revolutionary activities. The mass struggle movement demonstrated the strength of solidarity of the entire people, causing confusion to the colonial feudal government.

Also during this time, the people of Nghi Loc were in a very serious famine. The drought lasted for a long time, the fields were abandoned for several consecutive crops, the sea fishing industry failed, and workers were laid off, forcing the people of Nghi Loc to migrate to make a living. The task of famine relief for the people was urgent and was a matter of life and death for the revolution.

Therefore, in parallel with the fight against forced surrender, Nghi Loc District Party Committee mobilized the people to fight to demand the authorities to provide rice for the hungry, find jobs for the unemployed, and share food and clothing with the people of Song Loc and Tan Hop villages. This policy was very consistent with the people's aspirations, so it was enthusiastically responded to by the people. The struggle to mobilize rice loans to relieve hunger was organized throughout the villages and communes in the district. Especially during the anniversary of the "red week" from January 15 to 24, 1931, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and party members in the Nam Nghi region [4] mobilized and led the people to carry out struggles to borrow rice to relieve hunger, forcing the Ly clan to allocate rice and public funds to help families who were hungry and suffered during the struggle.

Faced with the pressure of the people's struggle, along with the flexible and skillful forms of struggle of comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and other party members, many families not only voluntarily lent money to the people but also borrowed money and rice from the rich to help the people.

Besides, during this period, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and the Nam Nghi Executive Committee focused on printing and propaganda, so the Nghi Loc District Party Committee's newspaper "Giac Ngo" focused on the main issues: Calling on the revolutionary masses to be vigilant against the enemy's deceitful and distorted propaganda schemes; calling on the entire people to unite to smash the enemy's plots...

However, after a short time, the French colonialists and the feudal Southern Dynasty government quickly concentrated their forces to destroy the Nghe Tinh Soviet achievements. They built a dense system of military posts in Nghi Loc. In addition to the Thuong Xa post (Cua Lo) that had been established before, they now established the Chinh Vi post in Cua Hoi, the Cho Coi post near Vinh, and the Cho Xam post (located outside the intersection of Highway I and Road 34), each post had 40 to 50 soldiers in green uniforms guarding it.

In addition to the green-garbage system, they also established a system of "bang ta" from the district to the villages and communes. Each commune and hamlet had a "bang ta" and a number of coolie groups of about 30-40 people led by the group leader and deputy leader. Former village chiefs, dignitaries and the elderly and powerful people in the villages and hamlets were all gathered by them into anti-communist organizations such as: Council of Elders, Council of Ethnic Representatives, Ethical Associations... They relied on this organization to control and destroy the revolution in each region, each commune, hamlet, each household and each family.

Faced with the insane and barbaric terror policies of the French colonial government and its puppet Southern Dynasty, most of the grassroots Party organizations in Nghi Loc were broken up, and cadres and Party members were killed and imprisoned. In April 1931, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh contacted a number of loyal Party members such as Tran Dinh Bong (in Nghi Truong), Dau Van Dan (Nghi Hai) and a few Party members who escaped the enemy siege in Tan Hop village.

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In a poor hamlet in Duc Thinh village on the way to Cua Hoi, under the chairmanship of comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh, the comrades held a meeting to discuss plans and establish a new District Party Committee, continuing to maintain the Party's activities. The conference elected comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh as the new Nghi Loc District Party Committee Secretary.

After the conference, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and the Executive Committee found a way to contact the Central Region Party Committee located in Ben Thuy. At the end of April 1931, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh attended the expanded conference of the Region, which was disseminated by “…comrade Thinh (ie comrade Nguyen Phong Sac), member of the Party Central Committee, who was then in charge of the North Central Region movement…”[5]

On the occasion of the International Labor Day on May 1, 1931, following the Central Party Committee's directive on "battle strategy", comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh and the District Party Committee advocated launching a struggle on a district-wide scale. Under the direction of the comrades, the Red Self-Defense Force was trained to consolidate and develop and improve both quantity and quality and weapons. On the morning of May 1, 1931, the sound of drums and gongs resounded throughout the sky, slogans and red flags with hammers and sickles appeared in many locations, attracting a large number of people to enthusiastically participate in the commemorative rally. However, the enemy carried out policies to suppress the movement with the most ferocious terrorist attacks, carrying out many bloody massacres, causing heavy losses to the revolution.

Faced with the difficult revolutionary situation, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh was not discouraged and continued to establish contact with party members who had not yet fallen into the enemy's net. On the one hand, the comrades patiently sought ways to overcome difficulties and maintain the local revolutionary movement. Revolutionary work gradually retreated into secrecy.

Comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh had to disguise himself, dye his white teeth black, sometimes wear a long dress and a turban, sometimes dress up as a buffalo driver, wear a buttoned-up blouse, cover his head with a white cotton scarf, carry a bundle of copper coins on his shoulder, and hold a buffalo whip in his hand, pretending to be returning from selling buffaloes in order to fool the secret police and lackeys in order to operate. He actively maintained contact between the district and the commune, made plans to protect the base, and still organized short-term training for party members and loyal masses. On the other hand, he was always the "rear" who worried about arranging work and areas of operation for other comrades.

In her memoirs about her life of activities, comrade Nguyen Thi Thiu could not hide her emotions as she recounted the difficult days of revolutionary activities after the terror and repression on May 1, 1931:“… I went to Loc Da to meet the Regional Party Committee to report the situation and ask for permission.new mission. In a housepicture, i havemeet Mr. Tron, Mr. Nguyen DuyVirginandMr. Bach means Mr. BachLe Viet Hanh, younger brother of Le Viet Luong. I presented to you the local situation and my family circumstances. After listening, you said that at this time, the key comrades had been arrested, and you were also being followed by dogs and could not go out, so you planned to send me to the Regional Party Committee to work for a while, because they did not know me here.

I presentwithGuys, it's better for me to stay home and work now, because I'm familiar with the area and the base.tmany can be near mother. At first, they hesitated, thinking that I was scared by the enemy's arrest and killing. I had to explain, and finally they understood. So I returned to Nghi Loc area to operate..."[6]

Although he tried his best to maintain the local revolutionary movement, in the circumstances“The executive committee has 3 people, and is about to train 2 more people. But now comrades Qui, Dinh, Ha (in the executive committee) along with 2 printers and 2 traffic officers of the district have been arrested.”[7]As well as the enemy's intense pursuit and terror, the Nghi Loc Party Committee's activities gradually subsided.

On January 18, 1932, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh also fell into the enemy's net. The time of dedication to revolutionary activities of comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh for the Nghi Loc Party Committee in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in 1930-1931 ended here.

From 1932 to May 1945, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh was exiled in many notorious and brutal prisons of the feudal colonialists such as Vinh prison, Kon Tum prison, Con Dao prison... Wherever he was, comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh always upheld the spirit of the indomitable and steadfast Soviet communist of Nghe Tinh. Comrade Nguyen Duy Trinh considered the imperialist prisons as a new front line of struggle, organized solidarity among fellow prisoners to fight, forcing the enemy to reduce the harsh prison regime, to win back life - to live to return to the Party, to the revolutionary movement of the people./.

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Note:

[1]Comrade Vo Mai's memoirs are kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum Archives.