Three springs with the survival of the Party

President Ho Chi Minh - founder and leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam

1. Spring of Party Building in 1930

When Western capitalist countries rapidly moved from the stage of free competition to the stage of monopoly, Vietnam, like most Eastern countries, was still immersed in the darkness of the medieval night and became the object of conquest.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the dark clouds of colonialism rumbled over the sky of Vietnam. The cannon shots of the French empire in Da Nang in 1858 signaled a fierce winter. Nearly 30 years later, the Nguyen Dynasty kings and mandarins “allowed the French empire to trample on their heads”, forcing them to sign the Harmand (1883) and Patenotre (1884) treaties, ending the historical mission of the feudal landlord class, causing “more than twenty million compatriots to die in the land of death”.^[1].

The more the domination, oppression and exploitation of the nation increased, the deeper the national contradiction with imperialism became, the more the resistance and struggle for national survival developed, fierce in nature, diverse in content and form. "The first one fell, the next one stood up", the patriotic movements against the French took place continuously and heroically, but were all drowned in a sea of ​​blood by the French imperialists.

The failure of the Can Vuong movement at the end of the 19th century demonstrated the inability of feudal ideology to solve the task of gaining national independence. At the beginning of the 20th century, absorbing the light of bourgeois ideology, many patriots sacrificed themselves to save the country, but to no avail. The country fell into a "dark situation that seemed to have no way out".

In 1917, the Russian October Revolution succeeded "like a thunder signaling spring", liberating the colonial peoples in the Russian empire, opening up before the eyes of oppressed peoples"anti-imperialist revolutionary era, era of national liberation"^[2].

Following the gunshots of the October Revolution, Nguyen Ai Quoc came to "First draft of theses on the national and colonial questions" of Lenin. He felt "moved, excited, enlightened, confident", and affirmed: "This is what we need! This is the path to liberation for us"^[3]. He creatively applied and developed Marxism-Leninism in the context of colonial Vietnam, built a revolutionary theory of national liberation, then spread it to Vietnam, actively prepared the political ideology and organization for the birth of a revolutionary party in Vietnam. Overcoming the enemy's steel net, Marxism-Leninism and Nguyen Ai Quoc's revolutionary ideology reached the Vietnamese people and were accepted by patriotic Vietnamese people as a light of their own truth, "like a thirsty person having water to drink, a hungry person having rice to eat", giving rise to a new revolutionary movement.

By 1929, the anti-French patriotic movement and the Vietnamese workers' movement had grown strongly, requiring unified leadership and a correct political line from a revolutionary party. That objective requirement impacted the pre-communist organizations, leading to internal struggles and active divisions within these organizations, forming three communist organizations in Vietnam.

Conference to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3, 1930. Photo of a painting by artist Phi Hoanh at the National Museum of History (Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

In early 1930, "as a delegate of the Communist International with full authority to decide all issues related to the revolutionary movement in Indochina", Nguyen Ai Quocproactiveconvene "delegates of the two groups (Indochina and Annam)"^[4]and chaired the Party Unification Conference in Kowloon (Hong Kong, China).

The birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam was the inevitable result of the national struggle in Vietnam in the new era, the product of the combination of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's thought with the workers' movement and the Vietnamese patriotic movement that was seething in the 1920s.

Spring 1930 - Spring of Party Building, marking a great turning point in the development process of the history of the Vietnamese revolution, ending the crisis of revolutionary leadership that lasted for several decades in the early 20th century, bringing the Vietnamese revolution onto a new path - the path of national independence associated with socialism. "The founding of the Party was an extremely important turning point in the history of the Vietnamese revolution. It proved that our proletariat had matured and was capable of leading the revolution."^[5]From then on, the Vietnamese revolutionary movement truly became an inseparable part of the world revolution.

Right from the day of its founding, "Our Party immediately raised high the revolutionary flag, united and led all our people to fight for national liberation and class liberation. The Party's red flag shone brightly like the rising sun, tearing apart the darkness, illuminating the way for our people to firmly advance on the path of victory in the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolution."^[6].

2. Spring 1935, the Party was restored

Having just been born, taking on the exclusive mission of leading the Vietnamese revolution, the Party gathered the forces and strength of the entire nation, immediately entering a comprehensive challenge with the imperialist enemy in the revolutionary climax from the beginning of 1930, culminating in the Nghe Tinh Soviet, in which the Vietnamese people clearly demonstrated their heroic fighting spirit of sacrifice and creative revolutionary capacity.

The strength of the masses and the prestige of the Communist Party grew stronger and stronger, making “the imperialists know that the Communist Party is their most formidable enemy, that they must destroy the Communist Party in order to destroy the revolutionary movement”, so from the end of 1930, they concentrated their great forces “to hinder the revolutionary wave and first of all, to destroy our brave Communist Party. The Indochina secret police increased several times; the Foreign Legion troops were stationed everywhere; tens of thousands of revolutionary soldiers were imprisoned and tortured in prisons, exiled for life, and had their heads cut off on the guillotine”, turning Indochina into “a bloody battlefield of workers, peasants and soldiers”.^[7].

Comrade Tran Phu - First General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam

From the beginning of 1931, the enemy's terror became increasingly fierce. The entire Central Committee of the Party was arrested,There is no Central Committee member left.^[8]. The regional and provincial committees were all destroyed. In April 1931, in Saigon, General Secretary Tran Phu fell into the hands of the enemy. In June 1931, Nguyen Ai Quoc was illegally arrested by the British authorities in Hong Kong.

The revolution suffered heavy losses and entered years of extremely arduous struggle. It was a severe challenge for the Communist Party, requiring the Party to have the courage and fighting will to continue to hold high the flag of revolutionary leadership.

In the life-and-death struggle with the enemy, when the revolutionary movement encounters difficulties, ideological fluctuations are inevitable among a few people, "regardless of social class, the majority of comrades are extremely loyal, dedicating themselves to the Party until the last drop of blood."^[9].

In times of danger, the Party still perseveres in its revolutionary path and maintains its belief in victory: "In the class struggle, temporary victory and defeat are common, and it is through them that the masses learn from experience, but the final victory is already in their hands.”^[10].

After four years of fierce confrontation with the brutal terror of the French colonialists and their henchmen, the Party still existed and was quickly restored. The Party's political mettle, revolutionary heroism, communist qualities and spirit, the fighting will of cadres and party members, and the revolutionary spirit of the masses were all brilliantly demonstrated in this fierce test.

Red self-defense comrades of the Hoa Quan and Dong So war zones during the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement (Photo courtesy of BTLSQSVN)

In the imperialist prisons, the fight continued. "Turning misfortune into fortune, our comrades took advantage of their days in prison to meet and study theory. Once again, this proved that the enemy's extremely barbaric policy of terror not only failed to hinder the progress of the revolution, but on the contrary, it became a kind of fire that tested gold, it trained the revolutionaries to be even more steadfast. As a result, the revolution won, the imperialists lost."^[11].

Party members who were not arrested and those who were released from short-term prison terms secretly operated, reconnecting party bases and mass bases, gradually bringing the masses out to fight for their daily rights.

Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the Party and international assistance, by the end of 1934, the Party's organizational system and the mass revolutionary movement were restored. The enemy's white terror could not destroy the revolutionary battlefield that the Party had built since the spring of 1930. On the contrary, the Party remained steadfast, the Party's base and the mass political base still existed, and the connection between the Party and the masses was always maintained. Through the life-and-death struggle with the enemy, the Party accumulated much valuable experience. The contingent of cadres, Party members and revolutionary masses was trained and screened.

In March 1935, the First Congress of the Party was held in Macau (China). The Congress set out immediate tasks of struggle, passed the Party's Political Resolution, resolutions on mass mobilization, the Party Charter and the charters of mass organizations.

Spring 1935, marking the restoration of the PartyWith a strong political stance and a strong fighting spirit, the Party not only heroically overcame difficulties and challenges, achieving fundamental victories in the struggle to preserve and restore the Party's organizational system from the grassroots to the Central level, but also prepared for a new battle, leading the entire nation to continue moving forward in the struggle against fascism through the democratic movement of 1936-1939 and the climax of the direct national salvation movement of 1939-1945, winning the August Revolution of 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

3. Spring 1951, the Party began public activities

The newly independent country had to face countless difficulties and challenges, being surrounded and fiercely attacked by imperialist and reactionary forces. The fate of the nation was hanging by a thread. The Fatherland was in danger.

In the winter of 1945, to ward off the enemy's attack, the Party withdrew into secret activities with the declaration of "self-dissolution" (November 11, 1945). The Party soberly analyzed the situation, determined policies and solutions; persistently led the struggle to protect the democratic republic regime, both resisting and building the nation, overcoming dangerous challenges, consolidating and promoting the achievements of the August Revolution, preparing real strength and proactively leading the entire nation into a long-term resistance war against the invading French colonialists with the spirit of "rather sacrifice everything, but never lose the country, never become slaves".^[12].

In the winter of 1946, the national resistance war broke out with the initial victory of the fighting in the cities. In the comparison of economic and military forces that was not favorable to the Vietnamese people, and in the context of international siege, the Party led our army and people to heroically launch a comprehensive, long-term, and self-reliant resistance war, with the belief that "The resistance war will definitely win".

In the winter of 1947, our army and people defeated the large-scale attack of the French on the Viet Bac base, defeating their strategy of "quick attack, quick victory".

Scene of the 2nd National Congress of Delegates held from February 11-19, 1951 in Vinh Quang commune, Chiem Hoa district, Tuyen Quang (Photo courtesy of National Museum of History)

In the winter of 1950, for the first time, our main force launched a large-scale attack on the enemy's occupation system, expanded and consolidated the Viet Bac base, opened the Vietnam-China border, helped the resistance escape the situation of being surrounded and isolated, and gained the strategic initiative on the main battlefield in the North.

"After 4 years of nationwide resistance, we have gone from passive to proactive, from weak to strong."^[13]. The resistance rear was built and consolidated. The people's democratic government became increasingly stronger through the practice of managing the resistance and nation-building cause. The people's armed forces, with their three-army organization, matured, and were reasonably arranged on the battlefields, serving as the core to bring the people's war to its peak. The great national unity bloc was consolidated and strengthened in the fire of the people's resistance.

The international situation from after World War II to the early 1950s had many changes.. The system of socialist countries was expanded and connected from West to East. The Soviet Union and the Eastern European people's democracies overcame many challenges, completed economic recovery after the war (1946-1950) and embarked on long-term socio-economic plans. The success of the Chinese Revolution (October 1949) had a positive impact on the revolutionary movement in the countries in the region. In the trend of attack, the national liberation movement in the colonial and semi-colonial countries rose strongly everywhere. The movement for peace, democracy and progress of the working class and working people also developed right in the capitalist countries. The struggle to protect world peace became a widespread mass movement.

France suffered increasingly heavy defeats in the war of aggression against Indochina, the French economy declined, had to receive American aid and became dependent on America, which negatively affected French sovereignty.

The United States vigorously deployed a global counter-revolutionary strategy with a focus on Europe. By implementing a strategy of "massive retaliation", the United States' goal was to push back communism. The development and victory of the Chinese revolution made the United States increasingly interested in the Asian region. After the defeat of the Chinese Nationalist Party in the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949), the United States sent troops to Korea (1950-1953), and at the same time intervened more and more deeply in Indochina, bringing the Indochina war into the "cold war" strategic orbit.

President Ho Chi Minh read the political report at the 2nd National Congress of Delegates, February 1951. (Photo courtesy of National Archives)

The Yalta world order continues to dominate international relations and has a great influence on the Vietnamese revolution.. While China, the Soviet Union and other democratic countries recognized and established diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, supporting the resistance of the Vietnamese people, the United States, Britain and several other countries recognized the Bao Dai government established by France. The war in Indochina became an international issue between the two factions, which, in the words of French General Yves Gras, "was embedded in the global conflict between the East and the West."^[14]. And according to former US intelligence officer A. Patti (Archimedes LA Patti), "It was internationalized and became part of the US anti-communist crusade."^[15].

Changes in the domestic and international situation require the Party to supplement and develop its revolutionary line and foreign policy. In that historical context, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “We must have an open party, organized in accordance with the world situation and the domestic situation, to lead the entire people to fight until victory.”^[16]. The Party must expand the development of its contingent to be able to lead the entire people and army to promote the cause of resistance, national construction and to sow the seeds of socialism later. To fulfill this heavy task, the Party itself must be strong politically, ideologically and organizationally. The Party's Charter must be amended to suit the new situation. The Party's leadership body needs to be further improved.

The three countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia united to fight against the common enemy, and in fact formed a fighting alliance between the three peoples during the revolution and resistance. Indochina was a battlefield, but each country had its own characteristics. Since May 1941, the 8th Conference of the Party Central Committee had resolved the national issue within each country in Indochina, establishing a united national front in each country. At this time, under new historical conditions, it was necessary to establish a revolutionary party in each country to propose a political line suitable to each country's circumstances.

February 1951,The Second National Congress of the Partyconvened in Tuyen Quang. This was the first Party Congress held in the country.

At the initiative of the Vietnamese communists, unanimously approved by the Lao and Cambodian communists, the Congress decided: due to the need for resistance, the working class and people of each country, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, needed to have their own party. In Vietnam, the Party operated openly, taking the nameVietnam Workers' Party.

According to Ho Chi Minh, "The Vietnamese Labor Party unites and leads the entire people to fight until complete victory, regains unity and complete independence, leads the entire people to implement new democracy, and creates conditions to advance to socialism."^[17]. The Vietnamese Workers' Party must be "a great, strong, steadfast, clean, thoroughly revolutionary Party”. In this period, the interests of the working class and working people and of the nation are one.Because the Vietnam Workers' Party is the Party of the working class and working people, it must be the Party of the Vietnamese nation..

Platform of the Vietnam Workers' PartyThe Congress adopted the resolution that: “The Vietnamese people's national democratic revolution will certainly lead Vietnam to socialism..., the Vietnamese revolution cannot take any other path than the path of advancing to socialism”. “It is a long-term path of struggle, generally going through three stages: the first stage, the main task is to complete national liberation; the second stage, the main task is to eliminate feudal and semi-feudal vestiges, thoroughly implement land for the tillers, develop industry, and perfect the people's democratic regime; the third stage, the main task is to build the foundation for socialism, and advance to realize socialism”^[18].

The Second Congress of the Party was a major event in the country's political life, marking the Party's remarkable growth in all aspects. The Congress summarized an important step in the theory of the Vietnamese revolution, determined the path to carry out the people's national democratic revolution, advancing to socialism; publicly declared Vietnam as an outpost of the socialist camp in Southeast Asia, a part of the democratic camp in the world. The correct path set forth by the Congress is the supplement and development ofFirst political platformof the Party was approved by the Party's founding conference in the spring of 1930. That was "the congress to push the resistance to complete victory and build the Vietnam Workers' Party".

Spring 1951, the Party began public activitiesFrom here, the Party became increasingly strong and mature, experienced in the struggle, leading the entire nation forward, bringing the resistance to victory, and nation building to success.