The drum beats of the year 30...

(Baonghean) - 85 years have passed since the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement took place, the echoes of cheers, drums, trumpets, and wooden fish still seem to resound everywhere in the land of Nghe An, rich in patriotic traditions. The desire to hear witnesses of the 1930-1931 period recount the heroic atmosphere at that time urged us to find the revolutionary veterans, witnesses of the "earth-shaking" event - Nghe Tinh Soviet.

Mr. Tran Van Dieu's house is hidden behind a small alley about 200m from the Nghe Tinh Soviet Monument (Hung Nguyen Town). We followed a boy to Mr. Dieu's house. "Are you asking about Mr. Dieu's house? Why are so many people asking about the teacher?". The boy's innocent question made us smile slightly... When we arrived, Mr. Dieu's health was not good, but that did not stop him from talking. As soon as he mentioned the period of the revolutionary climax, he was absorbed in his memories, taking us all back to those historical days:

“At that time, I was still young, only 7 years old. At that age, I didn’t understand what was going on. Seeing my parents, my siblings, my neighbors beating wooden fish, carrying sticks, carrying flags in groups to protest, I followed. Seeing people shouting “Down with French colonialism”, and hearing adults vaguely talk about making a revolution, I only vaguely knew that making a revolution was something very important, very great, causing everyone to be filled with enthusiasm”. Another reason why a 7-year-old boy had such a deep impression of an event that he himself was not yet aware enough to understand, was because his loved ones in his family also participated in the once famous Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in particular and the revolutionary movement of the whole nation in general.

Mr. Tran Van Dieu talks with Nghe An Newspaper reporter.

He proudly told that his father, Mr. Tran Khieu (aka Tran Diem), participated in the revolutionary movement and was imprisoned by the enemy three times. Previously, his house was a secret meeting place for patriots and revolutionaries. In the 1930s, when there was an order to rise up and seize power, every night, his fathers and uncles gathered at his house to discuss the location, weapons and methods of protest. He said: “While you guys were discussing national affairs, someone would be assigned to stand guard outside the gate. When soldiers arrived, that person would immediately pretend to shout loudly to signal. If the meeting took place during the day, my mother would prepare a tray of food and place it on the ancestral altar. If soldiers came and saw a large crowd, they would use the excuse that our family was having a death anniversary.”

The meeting was secretive, but when the demonstration was organized, it was public and full of enthusiasm. On September 12, 1930, farmers flocked to the provincial capital in Hung Nguyen and held slogans: Abolish taxes, redistribute land, down with imperialism, down with feudalism, etc. A whole crowd of people with slogans and red flags poured from all over the streets towards Yen Xuan Station in Vinh, shouting, drums and gongs resounding, spears and halberds everywhere. The French colonial government responded strongly, mobilizing planes to bomb the demonstration, killing 217 people and injuring 125.

But the enemy's bombs and bullets could not stop the flow of protesters like a red river surging with anger, destroying prisons, burning down district offices, surrounding the blue-clad military posts, and striking hard at the strongholds of the corrupt colonial and feudal government. Many village chiefs and district magistrates fled in fear, the government system in some places collapsed, in others it was shaken and shaken by the strong revolutionary wave of the people.

Continuing to follow the flow of history, we went upstream of Lam Giang to Thanh Chuong land - where the first Soviet government was established, the cradle of the revolution in the period of 1930 - 1931. The person we were lucky to meet was Mr. Phan To Duc in Kim Tien village, Vo Liet commune. This year he turned 99 but he is still very clear-headed and agile, he often reads newspapers, follows current events and makes sharp comments. When mentioning the historical period of 1930 - 1931, his eyes lit up, his voice was clear and resounding, it seemed like before our eyes was not a hundred-year-old man but a young boy of the red movement years ago.

According to him, in the years 1930 - 1931, the people of Vo Liet commune used Vo Liet communal house (still remaining) as the headquarters of the revolutionary movements. On the morning of June 1, 1930, the people in the surrounding area, holding sticks and rulers, gathered here and then marched to the district office to make demands to the government. On September 1, 1930, the whole Thanh Chuong was seething with revolutionary spirit, 20,000 people in 5 communes simultaneously crossed the Lam River to besiege and destroy the district office with the momentum of "rising tides and waterfalls". Mr. Duc still clearly remembers the image of people in the lead holding red flags, flanked by self-defense members equipped with knives and sticks, the rest were farmers regardless of gender, age, and age, united in their determination to rise up and seize power.

Faced with that situation, the district chief Phan Sy Bang fled, and the government passed into the hands of the people in a very favorable manner. The Party cell met at Vo Liet communal house and decided to establish the Red Peasant Association, representing the interests of the workers, openly handling all matters as a revolutionary government. The Soviet government implemented new policies on the one hand, and on the other hand, abolished the old government system, confiscating land, rice, and money from landlords. Vo Liet communal house became the headquarters of the Soviet government of workers and peasants - the first Soviet government in the revolutionary movement of 1930 - 1931 nationwide.

The memories subsided, but Mr. Duc's proud smile still lingered in the present moment, just like the sound of drums 30 - 31 echoing for 85 years and more. Mr. Duc added that the uprising of the people at that time was eventually suppressed, but the heroic revolutionary history of the nation will never fade the mark of the first miracle that opened the strong revolutionary wave, bringing the nation's boat through the dark days to reach the shore of peace, freedom, and happiness of today.

There are not many witnesses of a historical period left now, but when you meet and talk to them, you can feel the heroic spirit and revolutionary spirit reverberating from the past. As people who lived through the painful yet heroic moments of the country, they not only participated in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement but also participated in two long-term resistance wars of the nation. But perhaps for them, when mentioning history, when recalling the past, the first thing and also the echo that remains the longest and clearest in the subconscious is still the sound of the drums 30-31 years ago.

We said goodbye to the two elders, feeling strong emotions welling up in our hearts. It was the excitement and enthusiasm following the pace of the people moving forward in their stories. It was the admiration and honor of meeting and talking with the flesh and blood people of the old red movement - the living monuments preserving the heroic spirit of the heroic land of Nghe Tinh. It was the regret lingering somewhere in the stories of previous generations and the thoughts of today's generation about a movement that was brutally suppressed and extinguished after a few months. However, that early Soviet government left behind heroic historical marks of the indomitable will and burning desire for freedom and independence of the nation - marks that are burning and fiery today and forever.

Phuong Thao