Bringing the image of President Ho Chi Minh to Russia

Continuing the diverse activities commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Russia, under the introduction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and with the support of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Russian Federation, on July 17th, at the Grand Hall of the University of Finance in Moscow, the Le Ngoc Theatre staged the play "The 72nd Letter" as part of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Epic Art Program.

Since its premiere three years ago, the play has achieved considerable success on stages in Russia, as well as in Laos and China, before reaching a wider audience in the land of the White Birch.

The play is inspired by a real-life wrongful conviction case where the convicted person wrote and sent 72 letters to President Ho Chi Minh to appeal for justice for eight seemingly hopeless years. However, when the individual was placed at the center of the case at all levels of government, integrity and impartiality helped to overturn the verdict, rectifying the immense injustice suffered by the person and restoring hope to a family.

The play's content not only revolves around the main character, a man wrongly convicted of murder, but also portrays many "faces" of society and officials, thereby highlighting topical issues such as wrongful convictions, corruption, indifference, and the role of correct guidance and humanistic values in life.

Speaking with a Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reporter in the Russian Federation, People's Artist Le Tien Tho, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and director, said that although the image of President Ho Chi Minh has been explored extensively on stage, to keep the stage "lighting up" for over three years, it is necessary to find new themes. With "The 72nd Letter," that theme is President Ho Chi Minh's concern for the fate of humanity. The authors and director successfully built plot twists and conflicts on "the stage" to keep the audience's attention throughout the 120 minutes.

Explaining the decision to bring this political play to perform for the Vietnamese diaspora in Russia, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Van Hai, Director of Production and Artistic Director of Le Ngoc Theatre, who plays the role of President Ho Chi Minh, said that besides commemorating the milestone anniversary in bilateral relations, Russia is also where President Ho Chi Minh set foot more than 100 years ago on his journey to find a way to save the country, and today the play has brought him "back" to the country he loved so much. This is very meaningful to all the artists in the troupe.

Artist Nguyen Van Hai said that over 300 performances, the play has always been warmly received, and it can be seen that in Russia as well, the play attracts a large audience from many backgrounds, and the community members have watched very attentively.

Notably, despite being a theatrical performance in Vietnamese, this cultural event attracted a considerable number of Russian participants and leaders from the University of Finance, a prestigious institution that has trained many generations of financial experts for Vietnam.

Attending and welcoming the performance, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said that many other major cultural exchange and promotion activities between the two countries will take place in the future, creating momentum to promote cooperation in education , culture, and arts between Vietnam and Russia to a new level, contributing to changing the face of bilateral relations.

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