Lenin's ideas on building a cadre of officials.

Lenin led the Russian people to a successful October Revolution in 1917, establishing the world's first socialist state. The legacy Lenin left to progressive humanity is immense, both in terms of practical revolutionary activity and theoretical thought, including the issue of building a cadre of officials.

In his work "The Immediate Tasks of the Soviet Government," Lenin clearly outlined the particularly important and urgent task of building a core leadership cadre for the Communist Party and the State. According to Lenin, the selection of cadres, especially those holding leadership roles, must be based on individuals with good political qualities, working capacity, "professional prestige," and revolutionary moral character. He set forth specific requirements for the standards to be met when considering and evaluating cadres, emphasizing: "a) Honesty, b) Political stance, c) Understanding of the work, d) Management ability." He also stated that the selection and placement of cadres must be based "on new standards, meeting new tasks" to suit the development of the country.

Leader Lenin. Photo: National Today

Regarding the political qualities of cadres, Lenin considered this the primary standard and a particularly important task for the Party's personnel work. He stated: "Study people, find cadres with strong character. Currently, this is key; otherwise, all orders and decisions will be nothing but a pile of worthless papers." Lenin believed that selecting cadres with sufficient political qualities for leadership positions was a very careful and difficult process, therefore, it was necessary to thoroughly investigate many aspects of the cadre, avoiding bias and subjectivity.

The political qualities of a cadre are not only demonstrated in loyalty to the goals and ideals of the Party, loyalty to the State, to the socialist regime, and the interests of the nation, but also in the ability to effectively implement the Party and State's guidelines and policies into practice, that is, to "transform laws from dusty scraps of paper... into vibrant reality." At the same time, cadres must possess high discipline, always consciously and resolutely fighting to "cleanse" their own and their organization's bad habits, in order to purify the Party's internal affairs.

In building up the cadre force, Lenin placed great importance on training and development, linking theory with practice, and requiring every cadre and party member to "learn, learn more, and learn forever." Lenin clearly stated: "One can only become a communist when one knows how to enrich one's mind with knowledge of all the treasures of knowledge that humanity has created." Lenin was not only concerned with the self-training and development of cadres in schools and through books, but also with training and development in a practical environment, in leadership and management activities, and learning from the experience of bourgeois experts. He demanded the dismissal of cadres who refused to learn in order to become good leaders and managers.

Regarding the evaluation and selection of leading cadres, Lenin always emphasized the need for transparency, objectivity, and honesty; it was essential to rely on the masses and gather information from them. He instructed: "The masses must have the right to change their leaders, the right to understand and examine every single step in their activities." Lenin placed particular importance on the selection, placement, and rotation of cadres. He pointed out an important principle in selecting and placing cadres: "putting the right person in the right job," and "firmly controlling the mechanisms they are placed in, rather than the mechanisms controlling them." At the same time, Lenin clearly stated the need for cadre rotation, specifically by sending high-ranking cadres from the central government to work in local areas.

In caring for the development of the cadre, Lenin also pointed out the principle of ensuring continuity and a rational social structure. Accordingly, Lenin instructed the Party to attract more young people, women, and ethnic minorities to participate in political work and economic and social management. When selecting young cadres, female cadres, and newly admitted Party members to assign tasks, attention must be paid to their practical leadership abilities, avoiding rigid adherence to dogma and conformity.

In personnel work, especially before each Party congress, Lenin demanded careful selection of good cadres for the revolution. He insisted on a resolute and "uncompromising" struggle against bureaucracy, corruption, dogmatism, "communist arrogance," and all manifestations of degeneration and opportunism; he called for "expulsion from the Party of those who are deceitful, those communist party members who have become bureaucratic, dishonest, and weak," and all those who "have infiltrated the Party" and "obstruct the Party's struggle."

The practical experience of the Vietnamese revolution shows that our Party and President Ho Chi Minh successfully applied Lenin's ideas and theories on cadre building to the process of organizing and building our Party, leading our people to achieve historically significant victories in the national liberation revolution, and in building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Currently, our Party is preparing for the Party congresses at all levels, leading up to the 14th National Party Congress, amidst a volatile and unpredictable global situation. One of the Party's key tasks is personnel work, specifically the building of a contingent of cadres, especially strategic-level cadres—the Party's elite—who must be truly steadfast, possess sufficient courage, character, competence, intellect, and high prestige to undertake and successfully complete assigned tasks. Our Party considers this a "key" task of "keys," related to the Party's destiny, the survival of the regime, and the cause of national construction, development, and defense in the new situation.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Head of the Personnel Subcommittee of the 14th Party Congress, clearly stated the requirements: Personnel work for the Congress must be conducted according to a strict, scientific, and consistent process, ensuring genuine impartiality, transparency, and objectivity. In particular, it must have a discerning eye in evaluating, nominating, and selecting outstanding Party members in terms of political acumen, moral character, and work capacity; ensuring the general standards of cadres; possessing both virtue and talent, with virtue being the foundation. At the same time, it is crucial to resolutely exclude from the planning those cadres exhibiting signs of ideological and political degradation, moral decay, lifestyle deviations, "self-evolution," "self-transformation," "group interests," disunity, internal disruption, and political opportunism like "eels and mudfish."

This also reflects the faithful and creative application of Lenin's ideas and views on building a cadre of officials, contributing to building our Party into a Party that is "the intellect, honor, and conscience of the era," worthy of the trust, love, and expectations of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/chinh-tri/202404/tu-tuong-lenin-ve-xay-dung-doi-ngu-can-bo-94d04ae/