The exploits of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan in Anh Son district during the Soviet movement

Xuan Son today, Truong My in the past is a land with a rich historical and cultural tradition of Do Luong district. According to "Names of Vietnamese villages in the early 19th century", from 1831 (Minh Mang 12th year) to 1963, Xuan Son was called Da Van village, belonging to Thuan Trung commune, Anh Son district (therefore, during the revolutionary period of 1930-1931, Do Luong people were under the direct command of Anh Son district committee).

Comrade Nguyen Sy Doan (1896 - 1956) was from Da Van village, Truong My commune, Thuan Trung canton, Anh Son district (now hamlet 5, Xuan Son commune, Do Luong district), Nghe An. His father was Mr. Nguyen Sy Can, a Confucian scholar who specialized in teaching and prescribing medicine to the poor, and had a patriotic spirit.

In the early 20th century, Da Van, like many other rural areas of Nghe Tinh, the people here suffered from the oppressive life of the colonial and feudal government. The miserable life of the family and the people nurtured the spirit of hatred for the enemy and the desire to break free from chains and fight for the liberation of the homeland in the soul of the patriotic young man Nguyen Sy Doan.

In the summer of 1927, comrade Ton Quang Phiet [1], a member of the Phuc Viet Association, was assigned to teach in Nhan Trung village (now Lam Son) to establish a base. He contacted comrades Dang Sy Doi, Cao Tien Tue, Nguyen Khac At... to establish the first Phuc Viet organization in Anh Son. After its establishment, the comrades promoted propaganda work, awakened national consciousness through Phan Boi Chau's patriotic literature and expanded the area to the entire prefecture.

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By early 1928, the Phuc Viet organization in Thuan Trung commune was established, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was admitted to the association and assigned the task of developing the organization in the locality. With close propaganda work, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan established the Phuc Viet organization in Truong My, consisting of patriotic youths in 3 villages: Da Van, Trung Quang and Lac Thien.

At the end of 1928, under the strong influence of patriotic books and newspapers sent from abroad such as: “The Revolutionary Path”, “The Verdict of the French Colonial Regime”, comrades Nguyen Sy Doan, Nguyen Sy Trac (Truc Nam) and a number of other comrades with progressive nationalist ideology announced the dissolution of the Tan Viet group in Truong My and promoted the establishment of a local branch of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association. Next, the comrades carried out propaganda and mobilized the people to clearly recognize the goal of expelling the French colonialists, liberating the nation, and bringing benefits to the poor.

In September 1929, the revolutionary movement in Anh Son developed strongly. Comrade Nguyen Phong Sac - Member of the Party Central Committee, in charge of the Central Region Party Committee, came here and convened a secret conference and announced the establishment of the Indochinese Communist Party Branch with comrade Phan Thai At as Secretary, at the same time mobilizing the establishment of mass organizations such as: Red Farmers' Association, Women's Liberation, Communist Youth Union, Student Association, Support Association... At Truong My, the branch contacted comrades Nguyen Sy Doan, Nguyen Sy Trac and established the Indochinese Communist Party Branch of the commune at the Nguyen Sy family church. This was one of the first branches of Thuan Trung commune. Under the mobilization and leadership of comrades Nguyen Sy Doan, Nguyen Sy Trac, the people of Truong My, together with the people of the whole district, enthusiastically participated in the struggle movements such as distributing leaflets, hanging red flags to celebrate the anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia...

Then, after the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930), at the end of March 1930, under the leadership of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee representative, the Anh Son Provisional Party Committee was established with comrade Tran Du as Secretary. The conference decided to convert the Indochinese Communist Party cells in the entire province into Communist Party cells of Vietnam.

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From a patriotic soldier, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan officially became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, standing side by side with his brothers and comrades on the proletarian class's position to fight against imperialist invaders, to fight for national independence and freedom for the class.

On March 26, 1930, at the church of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan's family, under the chairmanship of comrade Phan Thai At, Truong My Party Cell was established with comrade Nguyen Canh Con as Secretary. Comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was honored to be one of the five members of the cell.

In May 1930, news of the struggle movement of workers and farmers in Vinh - Ben Thuy and surrounding areas rose, contributing to encouraging the revolutionary spirit of the people of Anh Son in general and the people of Xuan Son in particular. Responding to the call "Following the example of sacrifice of Nghe An farmers" (on May 1) of the Central Region Party Committee, the Anh Son Party Committee convened a meeting with the participation of the General Committee Secretaries and decided to take June 1, 1930 as the day of general demonstration of the people of Anh Son.

Immediately after grasping the policy of the Government Committee, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan, Nguyen Canh Con and comrades in the Party cell actively propagated and mobilized people to participate, while urgently preparing all aspects for the demonstration demanding tax reduction, tax deferral, and opposing the enemy's terrorist policy on a government-wide scale.

On the night of May 30, 1930, under the direction of comrades Nguyen Sy Doan and Nguyen Canh Con, the red hammer and sickle flag was hung on the roofs of communal houses and treetops throughout Truong My commune. Then, at dawn on June 1, 1930, under the command and guidance of comrades, a large number of Truong My people marched to Truong Con Doi (now Da Son commune) with people from villages in Thuan Trung, Bach Ha, and Le Nghia to listen to the speech.

Next, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan, Nguyen Canh Con and other party members led the people in neat ranks, with drums and flags beating loudly, marching towards Anh Son Palace in Do Luong town. The protest group marched while shouting slogans of struggle:

- Postpone land tax, abolish poll tax, market tax, and ferry tax.

- Compensation for the families of soldiers Phan Than and Nguyen Duu.

- Increase wages and reduce working hours for workers.

- Release those arrested during the protest in Ben Thuy.

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Faced with the stormy momentum of the protest, District Chief Ha Xuan Hai and five soldiers had to go to the gate of the palace to welcome and receive the people's demands. The protest on June 1, 1930 of the people of Anh Son ended in victory.

After this demonstration, the Party cell and mass organizations spread more widely in the villages, and the people's belief in their strength and will to fight was further fueled. In August 1930, comrade Nguyen Canh Con received a new assignment at the Provincial Party Committee, and comrade Nguyen Sy Doan, with his prestige, was elected by the organization as Secretary of the Truong My Party Cell.

Under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and the Truong My Party Cell, the struggle movement of the people of Truong My grew stronger and stronger. Implementing the policy of the Anh Son Provincial Party Committee on organizing a second large-scale demonstration across the province in response to the Thanh Chuong people's struggle on September 1, 1930, from the afternoon of September 7, 1930, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and the Truong My Party Cell arranged the Red Guards, organized into groups of 3 to 5 people equipped with spears and machetes, to go to the villages to mobilize and support the demonstration groups to the assembly point.

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At dawn on September 8, 1930, the sound of drums and gongs sounded, under the command of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan, the people of Truong My joined the crowd of people from the two communes of Thuan Trung and Bach Ha to gather at Truong Con Doi. After listening to the speeches of the party members, the protesters marched to the government office. When the group was 1km from the government office, the chief of Do Luong station sent soldiers in green uniforms to line up and use guns to block them. Despite the enemy's gunfire, the group still marched forward and shouted slogans of struggle.

Faced with the revolutionary masses' attack, the enemy sent armed planes from Vinh to bomb the demonstration, killing 7 people and injuring 30 others. Faced with an unequal situation, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and his party members led the people to temporarily retreat to minimize casualties. Although this demonstration did not achieve the desired victory, it demonstrated the strong strength of the masses, scared the village chiefs, and the revolutionary spirit surged.

Faced with the people's fighting strength, to suppress the revolutionary movement in Truong My in particular and Anh Son district in general, the French colonialists and their puppet government organized many sweeps and arrests of cadres and party members throughout the district. On May 6, 1931, after many days of secret activities, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was ambushed and captured by the enemy and taken straight to Vinh. Despite facing many tortures, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan still kept his oath to the Party. Unable to get anything out of him, the Southern Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to 3 years in prison, 2 years and 6 months of house arrest, then exiled to Nha Trang.

In July 1932, when he had just finished his prison term from Nha Trang to Vinh, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was again accused of being a "member of the Anh Son Palace Committee". He was arrested by the enemy for the second time, and the Southern Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to 3 years in prison, 2 years of house arrest, and continued to be exiled to Nha Trang.

In February 1935, after his prison term ended, he returned to his hometown under a two-year house arrest sentence. Immediately after returning to his hometown, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan contacted and, together with comrades Nguyen Dinh Tien and Nguyen Sy Thao, mobilized the people to participate in establishing mutual aid groups and to restore the Da Van Party Cell consisting of five comrades.

In May 1945, the Viet Minh Front Committee of Da Van village was established, consisting of 3 comrades, with comrade Nguyen Sy Doan as Secretary. In mid-August 1945, after the Japanese fascists announced their surrender, they received an urgent telegram from the Viet Minh inter-provincial Nghe Tinh with the following content:“Immediately arrange the seizure of power, establish a provisional People's Revolutionary Committee, regardless of whether the village or district comes first. All the green-clad military posts must be taken over. The plan to seize power depends on the flexibility of the locality.”Comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and comrades in the Viet Minh Front Committee of Da Van village held a meeting and started to mobilize and gather all mass forces.

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On August 23, 1945, under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and the Viet Minh Front Committee of Da Van village, the majority of the people rose up to seize power. Faced with the seething spirit and indomitable will of the people, the village chief, the local tyrants, and the village chief voluntarily handed over their seals and all kinds of documents and records of the commune to the revolution. The uprising to seize power in Da Van commune was successful.

After the successful uprising to seize power, on February 12, 1946, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was elected by the organization and people to hold the position of Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Tu Tan commune. After that, he continued to participate in the resistance war against the US to save the country and did social work in his hometown.

In 1956, due to the effects of prison conditions and old age, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan passed away in his hometown.

In recognition of the contributions of comrade and his family in the revolutionary movement for national liberation, comrade Nguyen Sy Doan was posthumously awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal by Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. The contributions of comrade Nguyen Sy Doan and his senior party members are worthy of being shining examples for all generations of sacrifice, heroic and resilient fighting, and excellently completing the tasks entrusted to them by the Party and the People.

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