Warm winter days of Russia - Vietnam

Warm and loyal

After a relatively long time studying in Russia and then returning to work in Vietnam, I have been able to return to visit Russia 3 times, each time with great emotion and intimacy. Recently, in late November, at the invitation of the Central Committee of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of its founding (July 31, 1958 - July 31, 2013), the Central Committee of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association sent a delegation of 25 people led by Major General Trinh Quoc Khanh, Permanent Vice President of the Central Committee to visit and attend the anniversary activities of the association. I was fortunate to participate and had warm winter days of friendship.

Group photo shoot at Mamaep hill, Volgagrat.

On November 20, 2013, after 10 hours on the plane, we arrived at Domodedovo Airport, Moscow. The weather in Moscow was quite cold, around 0 to 3 degrees Celsius. Despite the cold weather, as soon as we got off the plane, we saw a large group of friends waiting to welcome us. As soon as we got off the plane, our friends ran up to us, hugging and shaking hands, as if we were family members who had not seen each other for a long time. And from that moment on, before, during and after the anniversary of the founding of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association, our friends were always close, sincere and excited to be with us, and everyone was eager to create the best conditions for our activities during our days in the friendly country.

On November 21, our delegation was welcomed by a group of friends to offer flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Monument. The presidents, vice presidents, and members of the association all attended and became very enthusiastic tour guides. The delegation also visited and exchanged cooperation with the Russian Union of Friendship Organizations and visited the Russian Parliament. What touched each of us was that although very few of the people who welcomed and accompanied us were members of the Russian Communist Party, they always called us comrades. Russian friends are always proud when talking about tradition, but all with the purpose of emphasizing, creating the basis and premise for promoting the current cooperative relationship between the two countries, not recounting or talking much about the achievements and assistance of Russia and the former Soviet republics to Vietnam...

Also in Moscow, the delegation visited and laid red carnations in front of the Lenin Mausoleum and the Kremlin wall, where there is an eternal flame in memory of the unknown martyrs. The Lenin Mausoleum has just undergone major renovations and has only recently reopened to visitors in recent months. All delegations must register and line up in an orderly manner. The line of people in line included all ethnicities, classes, countries, and ages. The faces of those who came here showed their love and admiration for Lenin, even though Russia is now a multi-party country and the Communist Party is not in power.

On the afternoon of November 23, the official celebration took place. First, the President of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association Buyanop opened the ceremony, followed by the order of introductions and welcoming speeches of individuals, organizations and units. The special honor for the 55th anniversary of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association was that President O. Putin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Vietnam all sent congratulatory letters and telegrams, which were all respectfully read at the ceremony. Representatives of the Government and the State Duma of Russia all attended and delivered speeches. This shows that although it is a social organization, the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association receives special attention and respect from the current government.

Most of the congratulatory letters, telegrams and speeches were short and concise, but they all expressed their belief and special affection for the tradition, present and future of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association. A very touching and particularly impressive detail made the participants of the celebration even more grateful when a veteran lieutenant general who had participated in helping Vietnam in the resistance war against the US, before stepping up to the podium to speak, asked the veterans who had fought in Vietnam present to stand up. The whole hall was surprised, after the veterans stood up, everyone applauded enthusiastically. It is known that in 2013, our Government invited nearly 30 veterans of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus who had fought in Vietnam to visit our country. There were 2 people present at this celebration who had participated in that delegation. The lieutenant general emotionally recounted the trip and his extremely good and profound impressions. You cannot help but be surprised and excited to see Vietnam develop beyond imagination.

At this celebration, we had the opportunity to meet and talk openly with the famous astronaut Victor Gorbachev, who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, Vice President of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association. Also here, we met the wife of the hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, astronaut Gherman Titop, who was also the President of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association for 20 years. When Hero Titop first came to Vietnam, he was welcomed by Uncle Ho in 1962. Uncle Ho and Gherman Titop visited Ha Long Bay. To commemorate the trip, Uncle Ho named the island he visited Titop Island. Currently, the Central Committee of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association has been carrying out the construction of the Titop Monument on this island. Also during the trip of the Vietnamese delegation to Russia, the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association had a meeting to ask for the official opinion of Hero Titop's wife on the model and scale of the statue. Hero German Titop was the President of the Russia - Vietnam Friendship Association for 20 years and Honorary President of the Association for 10 years.

The past is always respected

For the remaining time of the trip, according to our wishes, the Vietnamese delegation was arranged to visit two places: St. Petersburg, formerly Leningrad, and Volgagrat, formerly Stalingrad. For me, St. Petersburg is like my hometown, very familiar because my wife and I studied there for 6 years, and then returned to visit several times. When we were international students, we clearly understood that when talking about the victory of the Soviet Red Army as well as the fierceness, sacrifice, and huge loss of life and property in exchange for victory in World War II, we must first mention the Stalingrad front. The Stalingrad front opened the door to the victory of the Soviet Red Army and also opened the door to consecutive defeats leading to the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. A veteran of the Russian-Vietnamese Association Executive Committee, when seeing us off to Volgagrat, repeatedly mentioned that millions of people died on each side at the Volgagrat front. In fact, when I looked into it, the official figures were that the Nazi side lost one and a half million people, 91,000 were taken prisoner, and the Soviet side lost one million one hundred thousand people.

We were arranged by your side to travel by luxurious and comfortable train. What is remarkable and surprising is that the modern passenger train that takes us to visit the old battlefield was built by the Federal Republic of Germany. The train does not go fast, at a speed of about 80 to 100 km/h. It takes 15 hours to travel from Moscow to Volgagrat. The city of Volgagrat has many historical war sites to visit. Here, during World War II, the Soviet Red Army and the German fascists fought each other, fighting over each house, each street, sometimes in the same house. We learned that initially the German army occupied 90% of the city's territory, but was later recaptured by the Soviet Red Army and won.

One of our attractions is the Motherland Monument. This is a unique highlight of the city. To go from the foot of the hill to the giant statue, one must climb 200 steps symbolizing the 200 fierce days of the Battle of Stalingrad. The main author of this timeless work is the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich. The Motherland Monument is a symbol of the Russian spirit, the Russian character, the Russian will. And this historical complex is now a precious heritage, a special tourist destination marking the strength of Russia in the historical past. It is also a symbol of the victorious power of truth that has a humane scope and lasts through time as the constant presence of the desire for peace.

Full of love for the homeland

One thing we have noted is that the activities, life and activities of the Vietnamese community in Volgagrat are very stable and have developed well. In the past, the press has written many articles about the Vietnamese community here, but today when we came here, we could understand and visualize it. The Vietnamese community in Volgagrat is not large, about 600 people, but they are said to be very united and help each other wholeheartedly in life. Here, there is Volga - Viet Company Limited, with Mr. Duong Hai An, a native of Nghe An, as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Volga - Viet Company operates in 3 main areas: First is the business of dormitory (abbreviation of dormitory - Russian) mainly for the Vietnamese community to rent. Almost all of the dormitory is Vietnamese, from the owner to the tenants, so it is easy to understand and sympathize with each other.

Through the discussion, we learned that the Vietnamese community living in this type of dormitory is very united and has many forms of mutual support and help. There is almost no theft here. The rent is also cheap, equal to ¼ of the rent of the same type of housing in Moscow, about 150 to 200 USD/month. Second, the business and trade at the market is similar to the Vietnamese community in other cities and countries, and third is the agricultural production model. This is a new point that few places are doing. Volga - Viet Company rents and buys the right to use hundreds of hectares of agricultural land for 50 years, hires hundreds of workers, both Russian and Vietnamese, locally and from abroad, depending on the season. The main products are vegetables and fruits harvested and sent to supermarkets. The potential for production and business according to this model, according to the representative of Volga - Viet Company, is very large and abundant...

This visit to Russia left us with many feelings and thoughts. Although the Russians and Vietnamese are far apart in space, the Vietnamese-Russian relationship is always close, warm and sincere. That is even more meaningful after experiencing many ups and downs, fluctuations and unpredictable changes of history and the times. And that is also a solid foundation to continue to build a future relationship between the two countries to develop better and better in the new era.

Ngo Kien

(Recorded according to comrade's story)

To Hong Hai - Chairman of Vietnam - Russia Friendship Association of Nghe An province)