Russia unveils monument to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers

The monument depicts three Vietnamese soldiers standing guard in a defensive position to protect Moscow. — VNA/VNS Photo

MOSCOW — A monument to the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers participating in the defence of Moscow in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) was unveiled at Patriot Park in the suburb of the Russian capital on Monday.

A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence led by Gen. Phan Văn Giang, Politburo member, Vice Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defence, attended the event.

The monument, titled “Allies – Vietnamese soldiers”, was sculpted by Alexey Chebanenko. It depicts three Vietnamese soldiers, namely Lý Nam Thanh, Lý Anh Tạo and Lý Thúc Chất, in the Soviet Union’s Red Army uniform standing guard in a defensive position to protect Moscow and fight till their last breath.

During 1926 – 1930, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, later known as President Hồ Chí Minh, introduced some patriotic Vietnamese youths to study in Moscow. When Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union, they voluntarily joined the international regiment of the independent motorised infantry brigade of special purpose (OMSBON), which was under the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, to engage in the fight to safeguard Moscow.

In the 1941 – 1942 winter, volunteer soldiers of Việt Nam joined the troops and people of the Soviet Union to dislodge the Nazi forces from Moscow. Thanh, Tạo, and Chất laid down their lives on the battlefield.

In 1986, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet posthumously bestowed noble accolades on the soldiers.

In 2020, the Russian Ministry of Defence asked the Vietnamese side to coordinate to review and consider the possibility of providing more information about the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers who took part in the defence of Moscow so as to add to the archives kept at the “Road of Memory” Museum at the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces in the Patriot Park.

The Vietnamese side also engaged in the monument sketching.

At the ceremony, Minister Giang emphasised that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and the Vietnam People’s Army appreciated the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Russia for erecting the monument.

He said that this monument and the one to the Soviet Union/Russian and Vietnamese servicemen falling down for regional peace and stability in Việt Nam’s Khánh Hòa province were demonstrations of the historical tradition and also symbols of the efforts in strengthening the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership.

For his part, Viktor Goremykin, Deputy Minister of Defence and Director General of the Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, highlighted the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers’ participation in the defence of Moscow, one of the important battles of the Great Patriotic War.

He expressed his belief that such monuments would help keep the historical memories of the Great Patriotic War and also enhance cooperation and friendship between the two countries. — VNS