Choosing the path of the Russian October Revolution and the end of the crisis of the national democratic movement in Vietnam in the early 20th century.

1. NGUYEN AI QUOC'S CHOICE OF A NEW SOCIAL MODEL FOR VIETNAM

From the mid-19th century, independent Vietnam was invaded by French colonialists, turning it into a colony. The simultaneous coexistence of capitalist and feudal modes of production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries created two fundamental contradictions in Vietnamese society: the contradiction between the Vietnamese nation and the colonial imperialists, and the contradiction between peasants and feudal landlords. Of these, the contradiction between the Vietnamese nation and the imperialists was the primary one. Resolving these contradictions was an urgent need of Vietnamese society, but the path to do so and the subsequent establishment of a political system were unprecedented and pressing issues, leading to a deadlock in the national democratic movement in Vietnam. The ultimate outcome was the failure of all uprisings against imperialism and feudalism by the Vietnamese people.

In that historical context, like many patriotic Vietnamese of his time, the young Nguyen Tat Thanh was deeply concerned about the fate of the nation and sought every means to liberate the people. Nguyen Tat Thanh, as the poet Che Lan Viet put it, was essentially searching for a model of Vietnam's future society. This social model was not an independent country with an outdated feudal political and social system as defined by his predecessors, nor a capitalist system like Japan, France, or the Republic of China as advocated by Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chau Trinh, and Nguyen Thai Hoc. He believed that "if a country is independent but its people do not enjoy happiness and freedom, then independence is meaningless."^[2]Nguyen Tat Thanh's aspiration when he went abroad in June 1911 was to seek a new political system for Vietnam after its independence, a system where the people would be masters of society, freed not only from the domination of foreign powers but also from the enslavement of the feudal rulers within the country. The meaning behind Nguyen Tat Thanh's journey to find a way back to "help his compatriots" was a search for a path of struggle not only aimed at a single goal like the ancients – "national independence" – but with a "dual" goal: "national independence and land for the tiller," and more profoundly, to save the country and its people.

In that sense, the essence of saving the country is saving the people; national liberation is liberating the people from all oppression, exploitation, and injustice. It is for this reason that Nguyen Tat Thanh greatly admired his predecessors such as Phan Bo Chau, Phan Chau Trinh, and Hoang Hoa Tham, but did not follow their path. The process of Nguyen Tat Thanh/Nguyen Ai Quoc's search for a new social model for Vietnam can be envisioned as going through the following stages:

Preparation phase(before 1911)This was Nguyen Tat Thanh's childhood, a period in which the historical context of his country, homeland, and family shaped and nurtured his profound morals and emotions: patriotism and love for his people, fostering his great ambition to save the nation and its people.

The search phase (1911-1919)This was the period when Nguyen Tat Thanh worked and studied in colonial countries and major capitalist countries such as the United States, Great Britain, and France. This process helped him enhance his understanding of culture, society, worldview, and philosophy of life compared to when he was in Vietnam. From the realities of Vietnam and the world, he came to the political conclusion that, upon regaining independence, it was impossible to establish a social system based on the monarchy model, as that system was outdated; at the same time, he was very skeptical of the bourgeois democratic model, although it was new, it did not achieve the "dual" goals he desired. If the decision to go to the West in 1911 "to see how they do things and then return to help his compatriots" marked Nguyen Tat Thanh's break with the Eastern monarchical and feudal political model, initiating his research and understanding of Western society, then the rejection of the "Eight-Point Petition" sent to the Versailles Conference (1919) demanding self-determination for the Vietnamese people led him to a decisive decision to distance himself from the capitalist model and system.

Decision-making phase (1919- 1920)This was the period when Nguyen Ai Quoc was in France, but he closely followed and directly participated in Vietnamese patriotic organizations. He underwent a political and ideological shift from traditional patriotism to revolutionary patriotism, adopting a proletarian stance, with a significant milestone being his reading and absorption of the content of "Draft Thesis on the National Question and the Colonial Question"This is from V.I. Lenin, July 1930." In this document, V.I. Lenin argued that when Western capitalism invaded and colonized the East, a national liberation movement against colonial capitalism would emerge. Since it is an anti-capitalist movement, it is objectively a proletarian movement because its object of struggle is capitalism. As a proletarian movement, this national liberation movement must follow the path of the proletarian revolution to achieve complete success. Accordingly, the national liberation struggle in the new era is objectively oriented towards socialism; after achieving independence, the political system established will be a new type of political system, with national independence linked to socialism.

Nguyen Ai Quoc read and understood that truth, so he was able to both explain the reasons for the failure of national and democratic movements in Vietnam in the early 20th century and recognize that the path to victory for the Vietnamese revolution was the path of proletarian revolution: "To save the country and liberate the nation, there is no other way than the path of proletarian revolution."^[3]), “Only socialism and communism can liberate oppressed nations and working people”^[4].

National liberation through the proletarian revolution is national liberation linked to the liberation of the working people, the liberation of humanity. Achieving national independence is the immediate and urgent goal, paving the way, while the liberation of the working class and the working people is the long-term and ultimate goal. Therefore, after regaining independence, the revolutionary forces must establish a political system where power belongs to the majority, "not in the hands of a few," that is, a people's political system led by the Communist Party. This also means that in 1920, when Nguyen Ai Quoc became a communist, he found a new path to national salvation, a path that could achieve a "dual" goal: saving both the nation and the people. Nguyen Ai Quoc's principle was: "Since we have sacrificed ourselves for the revolution, we should see it through to the end, meaning that after the revolution, power should be handed over to the majority of the people, not left in the hands of a small group. Only then will we avoid repeated sacrifices, and only then will the people be happy."^[5].

To say that Nguyen Tat Thanh, Nguyen Ai Quoc, was searching for a way to save the country (1911-1920) in that sense is to find a new social model for the future of Vietnam, a social model that was already existing in Russia, where the Communist Party, based on Marxist-Leninist ideology, led the country, which was independent, had a government of workers, peasants, and soldiers, factories owned by workers, land owned by farmers, developed industry and agriculture, gender equality, universal education, and international integration,...

  II.THE NEW SOCIAL MODEL AND THE END OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT CRISIS IN VIETNAM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY.Before 1920, the Vietnamese people had many ways to resolve the impasse in Vietnam's development model, leading to many vibrant national and democratic movements, but ultimately all failed. Nguyen Ai Quoc was the one who found the most correct solution: following the path of the Russian October Revolution. Thanks to this, Vietnam gradually escaped the impasse in its national and democratic struggle, developing the movement along the lines of a proletarian revolution that was both appropriate for the era and fulfilled the aspirations of the working people and the Vietnamese nation, gradually leading to victory on the path of "national independence," "land to the tiller," towards a prosperous, strong, democratic, just, and civilized society.

The image of Vietnam's future, envisioned by Nguyen Ai Quoc when he chose the path of national liberation through the proletarian revolution—a regime ruled by the people under the leadership of the Communist Party—was still being explored, researched, and perfected by him for many years afterward. This is evident in Nguyen Ai Quoc's writings published in newspapers.Le Paria, newspaperHumanityof the French Communist Party, in Soviet newspapers, in the playBamboo dragon, inShipwreck login the workThe Condemnation of the French Colonial Regimeand especially in the workRevolutionary Path(1927), the political institutional model - the future state of Vietnam - was gradually formed in a concrete way.

The model—the characteristics of the new type of political institution and state according to Nguyen Ai Quoc's ideology—and the path to achieving that state generally include the following contents: National liberation through the proletarian revolution is the only solution to achieve the dual goals of saving the country and saving the people; national independence is linked with socialism; achieving national independence through the proletarian revolution, by the efforts of the entire nation; after achieving independence, a state of the people, by the people, and for the people will be established, with state power belonging to the majority of the people, in which the workers and peasants are the foundation and masters; that state, that regime, will realize national independence, human freedom, and people's happiness, with the ultimate goal of moving towards socialism and communism; that regime, that state, may be established before the proletarian state in the mother country. That institution, that State, must be established and built in scientific, correct ways and methods, appropriate to the characteristics of Vietnam; that institution, that State, must have solidarity relations with proletarian movements, national liberation movements, and socialist and democratic regimes around the world; that institution, that State, must be led by the Communist Party, a party that adheres to Marxism-Leninism…

These are the qualitatively different and new aspects of the Vietnamese revolutionary model and path according to Nguyen Ai Quoc's thought compared to other paths and ideologies of the time. The core of this was achieving national independence, which, while urgent and prioritized, was not the ultimate goal. It was a struggle for national independence that did not aim to re-establish the feudal regime like previous uprisings and resistance movements in Vietnamese history, nor to create a capitalist regime like the American or French Revolutions. Fundamentally, it was similar to Russia after the October Revolution of 1917: a regime of the majority, for the independence of the nation, the freedom of the people, and the happiness of the people.

With that model, when we say that Nguyen Ai Quoc was seeking a path to national salvation, it was essentially about finding a new model of state, a state ruled by the people, led by the Communist Party. This also means that Nguyen Ai Quoc's process of spreading Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam was the process of spreading this new model of state and political system. When we say that the workers' movement and the patriotic movement in Vietnam embraced Marxism-Leninism, it also means that these movements embraced the new political system chosen by Nguyen Ai Quoc – the model of a state ruled by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party, aiming towards a socio-political system of the people, by the people, and for the people. Accordingly, when we say that the national and democratic movement developed into a proletarian revolutionary movement, it also means that these movements shifted their goal to establishing a political system and a model of state ruled by the people, under the leadership of the Communist Party. It is about "carrying out bourgeois democratic and agrarian revolution to advance towards a communist society" that is independent, free, happy, prosperous, strong, democratic, just, and civilized.

With the right orientation regarding the purpose of the struggle, a struggle that not only brought independence but, more importantly, established a democratic regime of the people, by the people, and for the people, the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal movements in Vietnam erupted strongly. When the movement became a proletarian movement, it led to the emergence of communist organizations and the establishment of the Communist Party in Vietnam in early 1930.

InBrief Political Platform, Brief Strategy, Brief Action Programof the Party, inA call to action on the occasion of the Party's founding.of Nguyen Ai Quoc (February 1930) as well as inPolitical ThesisIn the Party's document (October 1930), the contents of the political system and the model of the new type of state were presented concisely and clearly: It was a social model mimicking the Soviet worker-peasant-soldier society in Russia.

In 1930, within the historical context of the world and Vietnam, when there was no more suitable model of state or political system than the Soviet regime in Russia, choosing that model was correct and progressive, creating new momentum for the Vietnamese revolutionary movement, culminating in the Nghe Tinh Soviet of 1930-1931.

During the subsequent revolutionary process, through experimentation and theoretical research on political institutional models and state models around the world and in Vietnam, Nguyen Ai Quoc and the Party arrived at a model.democratic republicIndochina provided the impetus for the emergence of a vibrant democratic movement in the years 1936-1939. During the national liberation movement of 1939-1945, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh and the Party continued to explore, experiment, and ultimately choose a more suitable political system and state model, namely the Indochina regime.Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Political institutionsDemocratic Republic of VietnamIt is a model of the State, a new political institution defined by Ho Chi Minh and the Central Committee of the Party at the 8th Central Committee Conference in May 1941.Viet Minh Frontis a type of stategovernment moneyWith a program of action clearly demonstrating that power belongs to the people, a transitional socio-political system of the people, by the people, and for the people. That model, that system, was the driving force, the banner that called upon the entire Vietnamese nation to rise up and carry out the August Revolution of 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as President.Democratic Republic of VietnamDespite extremely perilous circumstances, it was established quickly and fundamentally, creating a new socio-political system chosen by Nguyen Ai Quoc, with the aim of national independence and sovereignty, and the freedom and happiness of the people.

During the period 1945-1975, Vietnam achieved victory in two wars of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism, restoring peace and national unity. From 1975 to the present, although still facing many limitations, Vietnam has achieved great successes in building socialism, defending the country, and integrating into the international community. These great victories have many causes, but the most important is the new social system with political, economic, cultural, and social institutions chosen by Nguyen Ai Quoc at the beginning of the 20th century and continuously supplemented, developed, and reformed throughout history.

*****

The fundamental issue of every social revolution is the issue of state transition, the establishment of a new socio-political system. Nguyen Ai Quoc's choice of the Russian October Revolution path in the early 20th century was essentially the choice of a new model of state and society for Vietnam, a model that aimed to combine national salvation with the salvation of the people, with the ultimate goal being a stable nation, free individuals, and a happy people.

The global and Vietnamese context, along with Nguyen Tat Thanh-Nguyen Ai Quoc's personal understanding in the early 20th century, determined the choice of a future social model for Vietnam. This model and the path to achieving it bore the strong imprint of the contemporary historical context. It proved correct and had a positive impact on Vietnam, directly ending the crisis regarding the path to national liberation, advancing the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle in early 20th-century Vietnam, leading to the victory of the August Revolution in 1945 and the two wars of resistance against foreign aggression, unifying the country, and advancing towards socialism.

The October Revolution in Russia, which took place 100 years ago (1917-2017), has profound historical and contemporary significance. For Vietnam today, steadfastly adhering to the noble goals of the chosen path and being creative in reforming the model, as well as adjusting the roadmap and solutions to achieve that model, are crucial and decisive factors for the success of national construction and defense in the new conditions of accelerated industrialization, modernization, and deep international integration, when the global and domestic contexts are vastly different from before.

-----------

Author's address:Phone: 0913593354; Email: ngodangtri@yahoo.com.

[1]- Department of History, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.