August Revolution 1945: Fostering pride and raising national status

The day Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence in the golden sunshine of Ba Dinh 80 years ago was one of the most important historical and political events of the Vietnamese people, marking a fundamental turning point in the country's development process.

The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 was a brilliant milestone in the historical process of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people. In the context of Vietnam entering a new era, the historical lessons drawn from the August Revolution still hold true.

Era of national independence

According to Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan, Permanent Vice President of the Central Theoretical Council, former Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the victory of the August Revolution in 1945 not only brought independence to the nation, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - the first people's democratic state in Southeast Asia, but also laid the foundation for building a new national institutional system unprecedented in the history of Vietnam - an independent, people's democratic national institutional system.

Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan speaks at the seminar “Resolution 68-NQ/TW: Driving force for Vietnam’s private economic development” on August 15 in Hanoi. (Photo: Contributor/Vietnam+)

Before 1945, Vietnam was a semi-feudal colony, under the domination of French colonialism and Japanese fascism, without a constitution and without an independent legal system. The institutional system at that time was all oriented towards serving the interests of the ruling class and foreign powers; completely opposed to the interests and aspirations of the people; the people had no democratic rights, no right to decide the fate of the nation.

The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 broke the chains of slavery of French colonialism and Japanese fascism and overthrew the autocratic monarchy that had existed for thousands of years in our country; opening a new era in the history of the nation - the era of national independence and socialism.

“The Party, headed by President Ho Chi Minh, has urgently built a comprehensive national democratic and independent institutional system in all fields to lead the process of creating and building a new society and protecting the achievements of the revolution,” Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan commented.

On August 14, 1945, the Ba To guerrilla team advanced to Quang Ngai town, joining the people in an uprising to seize power. (Photo: VNA archive)

The August Revolution of 1945 was not only a revolution of national liberation but also a revolution led by the working class, belonging to the category of socialist revolution. The success of the Vietnamese revolution encouraged the people of many Asian and African countries to rise up to fight against colonial oppression and exploitation, and gain national independence. In the 20th century, Vietnam became the leading flag for national liberation movements all over the world.

President Ho Chi Minh affirmed the great significance of the August Revolution: “Not only can the working class and the Vietnamese people be proud, but the working class and oppressed peoples elsewhere can also be proud that this is the first time in the revolutionary history of colonial and semi-colonial peoples that a Party only 15 years old has successfully led the revolution and taken power nationwide.”

According to Associate Professor-Doctor Dinh Quang Hai, former Director of the Institute of History, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the revolutionary struggle movement in Laos, Indonesia, India, China, Syria, Lebanon... has won victory; especially after the French colonialists were defeated in Vietnam, many countries in Africa such as Algeria, Madagascar... followed Vietnam's example to rise up to fight for national liberation, escape the yoke of colonialism, and end the brutal domination of old colonialism.

“The victory of the August Revolution in 1945 in Vietnam dealt a heavy blow to the colonial system of imperialism in Asia, contributed significantly to the disintegration of old colonialism worldwide, and strongly encouraged the struggle of oppressed peoples against the yoke of imperialism for national independence, democracy and socialism,” said Mr. Hai.

Brightly entering the new era

In the context of the nation's historical transformation, Vietnam not only protected its independence after the August Revolution in 1945 but also went further, affirming the country's foundation, position and prestige in the international arena.

With the goal of Vietnam becoming a developing country with modern industry and high average income by 2030; and becoming a developed socialist country with high income by 2045, the construction and completion of a modern, democratic, effective and integrated national institutional system is an inevitable and urgent requirement.

Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan believes that this requires us not only to look to the future, but also to look back to the past, exploiting the depth of history to promote valuable lessons from the practice of building the institutional system after the August Revolution in 1945 in the new historical context and conditions.

According to Professor-Doctor Ta Ngoc Tan's analysis, Vietnam has entered a new stage of development, with outstanding characteristics such as: Transforming the development model from extensive to intensive growth, based on science, technology and innovation; comprehensive international integration, being a strategic partner of many countries, an active member of international organizations; Vietnam's geopolitical position is increasing.

However, the increasingly complex fluctuations in international security, economy and politics; the need for modern governance; the development gap, the risk of falling behind if institutional innovation is not timely... are not small challenges.

Therefore, it is necessary to continue to improve institutions and laws to remove "bottlenecks", open up resources for national development; promote democracy and the role of the people. Any institution that does not put the people at the center will inevitably lose its solid and lasting political and social foundation.

In the field of foreign affairs and international integration, Associate Professor - Doctor Nguyen Viet Thao, former Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said that it is necessary to look back at the historical value of the August Revolution to see more clearly the process of Vietnam from a backward colony to an independent nation.

Right from the beginning of the country's founding, President Ho Chi Minh declared that the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was ready to "be friends with all democratic countries and not make enemies with anyone."

Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam (second from right), ASEAN Secretary General and ASEAN foreign ministers at the meeting to officially admit Vietnam as a member of the bloc. (Photo: VNA)

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Thao, that viewpoint has been consistently demonstrated through our facilitation of investment by foreign capitalists and engineers in all our industries. Vietnam is ready to expand its ports, airports and roads for international trade and transit. Our country participates in all international economic cooperation organizations under the leadership of the United Nations…

Mr. Thao believes that these are valuable lessons that can be applied to current foreign affairs to enhance the country's position to become more and more radiant./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/cach-mang-thang-tam-nam-1945-hon-duc-niem-tu-hao-nang-cao-vi-the-quoc-gia-post1056543.vnp