I. Biography and revolutionary activities of comrade Nguyen Van Cu
Comrade Nguyen Van Cu was born on July 9, 1912, in a poor Confucian family with a tradition of mandarin education in Phu Khe commune, Tu Son district, Bac Ninh province, now Tu Son town, Bac Ninh province.
In 1927, at the age of 15, studying at Buoi School, he enthusiastically participated in the activities of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association. In 1928, he was expelled from school by the French colonialists for participating in revolutionary activities. Returning to his hometown, Nguyen Van Cu continued to connect with comrades in the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association, building revolutionary bases in the locality. At the end of 1928, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association introduced him to the activities of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association."proletarianization"at Vang Danh coal mine.
In 1929, comrade Nguyen Van Cu was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party. In 1930, he and Nguyen Duc Canh established the first Indochinese Communist Party cell in Mao Khe, then developed the party's grassroots organization throughout the mining area, established the Mining Special Zone Committee, and published the newspaper.Charcoal.
On February 15, 1931, while on a business trip to Cam Pha - Hong Gai, he was arrested by the French colonialists and imprisoned in Hoa Lo Prison. The Hanoi Criminal Court sentenced him to death."lifetime banishment"and exiled to Con Dao.
In 1936, due to the pressure of the strong struggles of our people and the French Popular Front, comrade Nguyen Van Cu and a number of political prisoners in Con Dao were released. He returned to Hanoi to contact the Party and establish"Initiative Committee".In July 1937, he participated in the establishment of the Northern Regional Party Committee, restoring party bases in Northern Vietnam and Central Vietnam.
At the expanded Central Conference in September 1937, he was elected as a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party and was appointed to the Central Standing Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party. At the 5th Central Conference (March 1938), comrade Nguyen Van Cu was elected as the Party's General Secretary. In order to fight against the Trotskyites and conduct self-criticism and criticism within the Party, and rectify deviant and erroneous thoughts, comrade Nguyen Van Cu wrote the work“Self-criticism”greatly contributed to building a strong Party in terms of politics, ideology and organization.
In September 1939, World War II broke out. Comrade Nguyen Van Cu directed the Party to withdraw into secret activities and actively prepare for a change in revolutionary strategy.
In November 1939, as General Secretary of the Party, he convened the 6th Central Conference, together with the Party Central Committee discussed and passed a resolution to establish the Indochinese National Anti-Imperialist United Front, replacing the Indochinese Democratic Front, opening a new period for the Vietnamese revolution - the period of national liberation movement.
While the nation's revolutionary movement was entering a new climax, on January 18, 1940, comrade Nguyen Van Cu was captured by the enemy. On August 28, 1941, he was executed by the enemy.
At the age of 29, more than thirteen years of participating in the revolution, seven years of imprisonment in an imperialist prison, more than two years as the Party's General Secretary, and a sacrifice at a very young age, comrade Nguyen Van Cu made great contributions to our Party and nation. General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu was an outstanding communist soldier, an outstanding leader of the Party and the Vietnamese revolution, a man of strategic vision, a beautiful example of revolutionary morality.
General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu (1912-1941)
II. Great contributions of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation
- General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu – directed the change of revolutionary strategy, creating an important turning point of the Vietnamese revolution in the period 1938 – 1942
In early April 1938, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Daladier in power in France compromised with Hitler on the Czechoslovak issue, and the risk of a world war was approaching. Realizing that the international situation was changing unfavorably for the Vietnamese and Indochina revolutions, comrade Nguyen Van Cu soon raised the issue of changing the Party's strategic direction. He wrote a series of articles published in the Dan Chung newspaper, such as:"Around the issue of Japan's occupation of Hainan"; "With Mr. Nguyen Van Sam, editor-in-chief of Tu Do newspaper"...Based on the analysis of the world, regional and domestic situations, he pointed out the danger of fascist war in Asia and Indochina, and at the same time called on the people to step up the fight against the fascist war of aggression. To prepare the Party to go underground and deal with the new situation, in his capacity as General Secretary of the Party, he directed the publication of the book “"Secret work of the Party"promptly sent to Party Committees at all levels. In early September 1939, comrade Nguyen Van Cu convened and chaired the expanded conference of the Northern Regional Party Committee, disseminated the international and domestic situation and decided to immediately withdraw the number of cadres operating publicly into secret activities, assigned a number of cadres of the Regional Party Committee and the Hanoi City Party Committee to build bases in strategic areas, and prepare the foundation for armed struggle when conditions permit. The correct and sensitive policies of our Party, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu, in the face of the rapid developments of the revolutionary situation in 1939 reduced losses for the Party, contributing to advancing the revolutionary cause of our nation.
On November 6, 1939, just two months after the outbreak of World War II, General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu convened the 6th Central Committee Conference of the Party in Ba Diem (Hoc Mon, Gia Dinh). The conference deeply analyzed the nature of World War II, the position of Indochina in the war, the policies of French imperialism, the attitudes of social classes and outlined the political line of the Vietnamese revolution in the face of the new situation. The conference affirmed: War will sow pain for humanity, but in the end the revolutionary cause of the world's people will defeat fascism. The conference also unanimously agreed: At this time in Vietnam and Indochina, the domination of French imperialism had become a colonial fascist regime. The French empire had compromised and surrendered to Japanese fascism. Therefore, liberating the nation from imperialism, whether French or Japanese, became the most urgent task and the immediate strategic goal of the Vietnamese revolution.
On the basis of unifying the assessments and determining the strategic tasks in the new revolutionary stage, the 6th Central Executive Committee Conference (November 1939) advocated: Concentrating all the nation's forces on fighting against imperialism and colonial fascist rule, the Party would establish the Indochinese National United Front against imperialism to replace the no longer appropriate Democratic Front. The slogan of land revolution was temporarily put aside; only the policy of confiscating land from imperialism and landlords who betrayed national interests was implemented. The slogan of establishing a Soviet government of workers, peasants and soldiers was replaced by the slogan of establishing a democratic republican government. To suit the nature of the revolutionary struggle in the new stage, the revolutionary method also changed from fighting for people's rights and democracy to fighting directly to overthrow the imperialist and their lackeys' government, from legal and semi-legal activities to secret and illegal activities, preparing conditions for armed uprising.
Looking back at the historical developments, we admire even more the decision to change the strategic direction and revolutionary methods in the new situation of our Party at the 6th Central Conference (November 1939) as extremely wise, demonstrating the sharp political thinking and creative capacity of the Party Central Committee headed by General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu. The timeliness and correctness of the policy of changing the strategic direction of the 6th Central Conference was affirmed and highly appreciated by the Central Standing Committee at the 7th Central Conference (November 1940) and the 8th Central Conference (May 1941). Thanks to the timely direction of the Party, the Vietnamese revolutionary movement continued to develop strongly in a new direction, and the revolutionary forces also avoided great losses when the enemy turned against them. While the national liberation movement was just beginning to develop, in early 1940, comrade Nguyen Van Cu and a number of other senior Party leaders were arrested. However, the wise and timely judgments and decisions, the sharp and creative policies outlined by the 5th and 6th Central Conferences under the chairmanship of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu were still creatively implemented by our Party and people, contributing to the victory of the historic August Revolution.
- General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu - an outstanding theorist of the Party
Comrade Nguyen Van Cu was a leader with a sharp theoretical thinking ability. Although he had never been abroad, had never met leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, and had never attended a formal training course of the Party, he showed his excellent theoretical ability. Under the leadership of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu during the revolutionary period of 1939-1940, many theoretical and practical issues were solved creatively, smoothly, in accordance with the objective laws of movement.
The initiative to establish the United Democratic Front by comrade Nguyen Van Cu presented at the 5th Central Conference in March 1938 was considered a breakthrough in both theory and revolutionary practice. Based on scientific analysis, our Party decided not to apply the model."Popular Front"in the French Republic style, not applying the model"National Anti-Imperialist Front"of China, which establishedIndochina People's United Frontto unite the working class and farmers, attract intellectuals and other forces following the reform and democracy trend. To clarify and unify the whole Party on this viewpoint, comrade Nguyen Van Cu wrote the work"Democratic freedoms for the people of Indochina",which presents and scientifically explains many theoretical concepts and categories such as:“What is called freedom and democracy?”, “Freedom and democracy with the nation”, “Freedom and democracy with the bourgeoisie”, “Freedom and democracy with the proletariat”…and then come to the conclusion that:“Indochina was under feudalism for centuries, then colonial oppression. Colonial policies colluded with feudal remnants to dominate Indochina, so the people of this land have not enjoyed the smell of modern freedom and democracy. Therefore, if the people of Indochina want freedom and democracy, they must fight.”2.But in what form of struggle, comrade Nguyen Van Cu affirmed:“Based on that specific situation, we can use peaceful methods of struggle - the policy of establishing a unified democratic front in Indochina to carry out those requirements."3.Work:"The democratic freedoms of the Indochinese people"His work has explained many basic theoretical issues, on which basis our Party has made strategic and tactical decisions during the period of the Democratic United Front.
In 1939, fascism threatened to wage world war, the French colonialists in Indochina were about to turn against the democratic movement, and some Trotskyists pretending to be revolutionaries also tried to fight against communism. As General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Nguyen Van Cu directed a broad struggle on the theoretical front. First of all, the struggle to clearly expose the true nature of the Trotskyists with a tone of"Tongue Revolution"of them, indicating the principle of union between the Communist Party and other parties:"The connection must be principled, not allied with reactionaries, Trotskyite provocateurs, and fascist henchmen."4;for these guys: “Are not There can be no compromise or concession. We must use every means to unmask them as agents of fascism. must destroy them politically"5.
In terms of internal consolidation struggle, in June 1939, under the pen name Tri Cuong, General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu wrote and published the book“Self-criticism”.This is an important contribution of comrade Nguyen Van Cu to the work of Party building in terms of politics, ideology and organization. For the first time in the history of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a top leader of the Party wrote publicly:“Communists have the duty to tell the truth to the masses, to lead the masses, not to follow or flatter them.”6And even if there are mistakes and failures,"must have the courage to open your eyes to see the truth"7.Criticize the wrong "leftist" tendencies, or"natural"of some cadres and party members. General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu requested the Party to"openly, boldly, and honestly point out one's own mistakes and find ways to correct them, and fight against tendencies of compromise and compromise. This will not weaken the Party but will make it strongly unified."8.
Work“Self-criticism”was born more than seventy years ago, by a Vietnamese communist who only studied theory mainly in imperialist prisons, but through his rich practical activities, the author has generalized extremely profound theoretical and ideological issues of contemporary significance that are still relevant today. The work "Self-criticism"demonstrated the wisdom in political thinking of an experienced and talented leader, and at the same time demonstrated the brilliant intelligence of our Party in enriching the theoretical treasure of Marxism-Leninism.
- Comrade Nguyen Van Cu - a shining example of revolutionary ethics and the spirit of self-study, training and maturity through practical revolutionary struggles
3.1. A shining example of revolutionary morality
Comrade Nguyen Van Cu devoted his whole life to the revolutionary cause of our people and to the noble ideals of our Party. His entire life of revolutionary activities was a model of the noble qualities of a communist.
With a spirit of enthusiasm for learning, training and constantly striving, from the time he was a student entering revolutionary activities until he returned to eternity, although he did not attend any political theory school, but with his faith and determination to turn the imperial prison into a revolutionary school, comrade Nguyen Van Cu equipped himself with a profound understanding of political science, becoming the General Secretary - the highest leader of the Party.
He skillfully combined the rich practice of the Vietnamese revolution and the international communist and workers' movement with the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism and the ideology of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, contributing with the Party Central Committee to properly resolve the requirements of the Vietnamese and Indochina revolutions. In the urgent and complicated circumstances of the democratic movement period (1936-1939), our Party encountered many obstacles and difficulties: The enemy always sought to suppress, the Trotskyites provoked and sabotaged, a number of cadres and Party members revealed erroneous leftist and rightist tendencies in implementing revolutionary strategies and tactics, made mistakes in perception... But under the leadership of the Party, our people united to create a vibrant revolutionary movement, millions of enlightened people followed the Party to carry out the national liberation revolution, smashed the feudal colonial regime, and built the first workers' and peasants' state in Southeast Asia. That success has the immense intellectual and physical contributions of the entire Party, of the Party's senior leaders, such as: Comrade Tran Phu, Le Hong Phong, Ha Huy Tap, Nguyen Van Cu.…
Not only having the spirit of self-study and practice, comrade Nguyen Van Cu is also a shining example of connecting with the masses, trusting and being closely attached to the masses, valuing the work of mobilizing the masses. Wherever he is, living among his fellow miners in the Northeast, or his fellow prisoners in Con Dao, whether he is a party member or when he held the position of General Secretary of the Party, comrade Nguyen Van Cu always shows himself to be a cadre with pure revolutionary ethics, sincerity, simplicity, exemplary in life, with a friendly and approachable manner, with the ability to gather and unite, loved and admired by cadres, party members and the people.
Comrade Nguyen Van Cu has the ability to think creatively, grasp reality quickly, has a strong ability to persuade and influence, and sets a shining example of self-criticism within the Party. With the enemy, reactionary elements, and Trotskyites who plot to divide and sabotage the Party, he resolutely fights to reject them, without compromise. With the mistakes and shortcomings of cadres and party members, Comrade Nguyen Van Cu is always gentle, sincere, and regularly exchanges with reason and emotion, making an important contribution to consolidating solidarity within the Party, fighting against ideological degradation and change in cadres and party members, and contributing to advancing the Vietnamese revolutionary cause.
At the age of 26, with his outstanding virtue and talent, comrade Nguyen Van Cu was elected General Secretary of the Party by the 5th Central Conference (March 1938). General Secretary Le Duan evaluated him:In terms of age, Mr. Cu is 5 to 10 years younger than us and Mr. Le Hong Phong and Mr. Ha Huy Tap, but he is an outstanding intellectual of the Party, very sharp and politically sensitive, and has the ability to unite and persuade his comrades. He is a communist with very pure moral qualities, respected by everyone.
Comrade General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu is an exemplary communist, the pride of our Party and our nation.
3.2. A typical example of the spirit of self-study, training and maturity through revolutionary struggle practice
Comrade Nguyen Van Cu participated in revolutionary activities very early. Coming from a student background, at the age of 15 with the enthusiasm of youth, through the patriotic struggle movement, Comrade Nguyen Van Cu was enlightened about Marxism-Leninism. Implementing the policy"proletarianization"of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association in the Northeast mining region (from 1928 - 1930), he immersed himself in the lives of the workers, soon realizing the great revolutionary potential of the Vietnamese working class. With a spirit of revolutionary determination, he organized many rallies calling on mine workers to rise up and make revolution to liberate the nation and liberate the class. The newspaperCharcoalDirectly directed by comrade Nguyen Van Cu and as the main editor, the newspaper propagated Marxism-Leninism and was widely published in Mao Khe and the Northeast mining area. Right from the first issues, the newspaperCharcoalencouraged, motivated and guided the masses to rise up and fight against the unjust oppression of French colonialism, supporting the international communist and workers' movement.
He had the opportunity to travel to many places, meet many workers, and work in many different occupations, thereby having the opportunity to analyze and promptly point out the advantages and correct the deviations in the work of mobilizing workers, thanks to which the revolutionary movement in the coal mines had a rapid change and development. In early 1930, he and comrade Nguyen Duc Canh established the Indochinese Communist Party cell in Mao Khe and directed the establishment of party cells in Uong Bi, Cua Ong, and Cam Pha mines. From a petty bourgeois student, immersing himself in the difficult life of miners, combined with actively training himself and studying revolutionary theory, after more than 2 years of revolutionary activities, comrade Nguyen Van Cu became one of the first people to build party cells and special party committees in the mining area, a key leader of the workers' movement in the Northeast coal mines.
When captured by the enemy and imprisoned and tortured in Con Dao prison (from 1931 to 1936), comrade Nguyen Van Cu, together with other loyal Party cadres, turned the imperial prison into a revolutionary school. At Con Dao prison, he studied classic works of Marxism-Leninism, such as: “"Communist Manifesto", “Two strategies of the Party", "Leftist infantilism in the workers' movement", "Marxist principles–Lenin"….Through direct exchanges with fellow prisoners, combined with his rich revolutionary practice, he perceived and deeply understood many theoretical issues of Marxism-Leninism and leader Nguyen Ai Quoc. It was during his years of imprisonment in Con Dao that he accumulated and cultivated Marxism-Leninism and the ideology of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, which illuminated the Vietnamese revolutionary practice and drew valuable revolutionary lessons. The dialectical path of cognition that comrade Nguyen Van Cu went through to become an outstanding young leader and theorist of the Party was arduous, heroic and extremely glorious.
The spirit of proletarian internationalism was clearly demonstrated in the 1930s when he became a communist party member. Comrade Nguyen Van Cu wrote many profound articles calling on communists and the working class of Vietnam to support the revolution in China and the Soviet Union, such as:“Helping China is the duty of all people who love freedom and peace. Helping China is part of the defense of Indochina.”1;supporting the Soviet Union to join the League of Nations, campaigning to help the Chinese revolution resist Japan, etc. These articles demonstrate a high ability to generalize, independent thinking and dialectics about the relationship between the Vietnamese revolution, the Indochina revolution and the world revolution, the burning revolutionary issues at home and abroad, affirming the political talent of an outstanding leader of our Party and nation.
III. Studying the viewpoints of self-criticism and criticism of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu in the work "Self-criticism" to effectively implement Resolution 4 of the Central Committee (term XII) and Directive 05-CT/TW
Celebrating the 109th birthday of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu while the entire Party, people and army are actively implementing the Resolution of the 4th Central Conference (term XII)“On strengthening Party building and rectification; preventing and repelling ideological, moral and lifestyle degradation, and manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party”associated with the implementation of Directive 05-CT/TW of the 12th Politburo on "Promoting learning and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle”; Organizing propaganda activities to celebrate the 109th birthday of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu is a meaningful form of political activity for cadres, party members and people of all walks of life, aiming to honor and affirm the great contributions of comrade Nguyen Van Cu to the Party and our nation; practically fostering revolutionary traditions, educating ideology, ethics and lifestyle for cadres and party members, especially for the younger generation.
In organizing the implementation of the Resolution of the 4th Central Conference (term XII), each cadre and party member needs to learn from General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu's viewpoint on self-criticism and criticism within the Party: "Openly, boldly, and honestly pointing out one's mistakes and finding ways to correct them, opposing tendencies of compromise and compromise, does not weaken the Party, but makes it unified and strong.“.
Learning some principles and goals in self-criticism and criticism of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu: “We can never blame all the causes of failure on the enemy's repression. We must recognize the subjective shortcomings that we ourselves caused, and we must take full responsibility."
“Self-criticism of the Bolsheviks is to help Party members train themselves, to increase the prestige and influence of the Party, to make the Party increasingly unified and consolidated, to develop the movement, to bring the revolution to victory, not to put oneself above the Party, to bring one's own opinions - even if correct - to oppose the Party, to use a few shortcomings to slander the Party, to sabotage the Party's influence, to sow doubt and confusion among the masses, to cause factionalism within the Party ranks."
“It is necessary to make party members aware, clear and fully responsible for their responsibilities, know how to change direction in difficult and serious circumstances, know how to self-criticize correctly and promptly their shortcomings and mistakes; at the same time, the Party must find ways to more truly control the actions of each party member."
“Overcome the wrong tendencies within the ranks: the isolated “Leftist” tendency, which wants to shrink the Party, narrow it by factions, away from the masses, and the rightist tendency to compromise, wavering in the face of serious situations, forgetting or obscuring the propaganda of Marxism-Leninism, threatening to abandon revolutionary principles.”
"Unity of thought, unity of action".
"Consolidate the ranks to quickly unify the people."
