Echoes of the Soviet spirit
After the Communist Party of Vietnam was founded on February 3, 1930, propaganda work was emphasized, creating a foundation for press activities and leaflets to spread. These were sharp weapons to fan the flames of revolutionary struggle in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. 94 years have passed, but the leaflets still retain their sacred value, as witnesses of patriotism and the indomitable revolutionary spirit of a proud historical period.
Sacred, sublime challenge
“… That was the first time in my life I was assigned to distribute leaflets. How can I forget that day, the day I saw the red flag with a yellow star printed on the leaflet. I stood nervously by the window and whispered a few lines: “Indochinese Communist Party…”. That night was a bright moonlit night, the space was as vast as my soul when I caught sight of the light of the Party through books, newspapers, and leaflets…”.
Those touching memories were of a party member in 1930 - Mr. Duong Phuc Tua from Phu Van village, Thuan Son commune, Do Luong district, in the sacred moment when he held the Party's leaflet in his hand. The sacred memories were recorded intact in the book "Under the Red Flag" currently kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum. So that every time visitors come here and read those words, they feel the breath of a difficult but heroic historical period. His mood is also the mood of many people when they put their hands on the small piece of paper but containing within it the belief and burning desire for freedom and independence.
For the revolutionary soldiers at that time, distributing leaflets was a very noble and sacred task. That task was clearly demonstrated through the revolutionary life of comrade Tran Nguyen (born in 1910) - a revolutionary soldier, party member in 1930 from Duc Tho (Ha Tinh).
In his memoir "The Path to Revolution", he said that he was born into a poor family and his father died early. From a young age, he learned Chinese and Vietnamese with two teachers, Dao Nhat Lam and Nguyen Nhu Cuong. The two teachers instilled in him a burning love for the country. And then, when he reached adolescence, Mr. Lam was the one who guided him onto the revolutionary path.
The first task that Tran Nguyen was challenged with was to spread leaflets in places where there was no movement, crowded places... To complete that special task, he had to disguise himself as a pot seller, a Chinese medicine seller to hide leaflets in each medicine bag, completing the task under the surveillance and strict investigation of the enemy.
In his memoir “The Path to Revolution”, published in the book “Under the Red Flag”, he wrote: “Comrade Dong and Dao Nhat Lam went to Phan Thiet church to announce my admission to the Party. Comrade Lam said: The Party tests my work through rallies, demonstrations and leaflet distribution. I have fulfilled my responsibilities. On behalf of the Party, I certify that I am a Party member”. Those memoirs were recorded with all the emotion and gratitude, and are proof of the steadfast faith and deep patriotism of revolutionary soldiers.
The Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum still preserves many Party leaflets during the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. With simple and sincere words, the leaflets are sometimes like heartfelt words of encouragement, sometimes like strong words of persuasion, deeply imprinted in the minds of the people.
“All soldiers: red-clothed soldiers, blue-clothed soldiers, patrol soldiers, and regular soldiers! You must remember that the French imperialists forced you to leave your villages, your parents, your wives and children, forced you to expose your bodies and shed your blood for the imperialists to benefit.
Brothers! Have you suffered humiliation and pain? You are originally from the working class and peasants, so you must defend the working class and peasants in the revolution, because only through revolution can we survive…”.
Excerpt from the Party's leaflets in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement
"These leaflets were hidden by soldiers in their bags or at the bottom of their shoulder poles, with all kinds of vegetables and fruits on top, disguised as people going to the market. When they arrived at crowded places, village roads, and alleys, when they had lost the spy's tail, they would be cleverly scattered. Every time they picked up the leaflets, the masses would secretly read them and pass them on to each other. People mobilized people, thanks to that, the ideological transformation among the masses increased day by day, and the Party's leadership role was also increasingly promoted", Ms. Tran Thi Hong Nhung - Deputy Director of the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum shared with us next to the leaflets with intact handwriting. That is the evidence of time, the historical affirmation of an unforgettable heroic period!
Evidence of time
In such difficult and deprived conditions, how were the leaflets created? The Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum still preserves and displays many artifacts, helping us understand the process of creating these powerful leaflets.
Stone tables, jelly cooking pots, ink grinding plates, do paper... are common tools and materials for two methods of printing leaflets: stone table lithography and lithography. For the lithography method, soldiers will use pots to cook the jelly and use everyday household items such as tea trays, copper trays, wooden trays, or wax candles, clay molds... to make printing molds. This method has the advantage of being simple, easy to operate and difficult for the enemy to detect.
The lithographic method (printing on stone) was much more beautiful and productive, but it was also very hard work. Revolutionary soldiers had to secretly carve documents on stone, performing many complicated steps and being easily detected. The process of printing leaflets was therefore extremely hard and dangerous. Many of our soldiers were imprisoned, beaten, and interrogated when the enemy suspected them of being involved in this activity.
Ms. Pham Kim Lan - Deputy Head of the Exhibition Department, Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum said that regarding the distribution of leaflets, she always remembers the story of a loyal soldier, that is comrade Nguyen Trong Cu (born in 1906). He was born in Ngoc Son village, Xuan Lam commune, now Ngoc Son commune, Thanh Chuong district.
Growing up in a country that was destroyed, he nurtured the desire to fight to bring a prosperous life to the people. In early 1928, comrade Nguyen Trong Cu was assigned to distribute leaflets in two villages (Van Lam and Ngoc Son). That night, he continued to secretly plant flags on the roof of Ngoc Son village communal house. The next morning, leaflets were spread all over the streets of the two villages, the hammer and sickle flags fluttered, making the people happy, while the colonialists and feudalists were extremely confused and worried.
After many activities against the enemy and especially actively distributing leaflets, comrade Nguyen Trong Cu and his comrades were captured by the enemy one morning in October 1931. They took him to the Phuc Xa prison. Here, comrade Nguyen Trong Cu and many other comrades were brutally tortured, and then had to endure 16 years of hard labor.
Throughout a long struggle, from the moment he encountered the Party's leaflets and was enlightened by the revolution, comrade Nguyen Trong Cu and countless other revolutionaries wholeheartedly followed the Party without any hesitation. The words of the leaflets are still burning today, deeply engraved in the hearts of readers. It is not only a call but also the heartfelt voice of loyal revolutionary soldiers.
Through propaganda, the Party gradually enhanced its leadership role, concentrated the revolutionary masses, built a solid worker-peasant alliance, and encouraged and motivated the people's belief and fighting spirit, contributing to the revolutionary climax of 1930-1931, culminating in the Nghe Tinh Soviet. The old leaflets, faded over the years, still retained their power - a power that cannot be shaken by time, still resounding today...
