The role of Nguyen Ai Quoc in propagating Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam (1920-1930)

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1.    Nguyen Ai Quoc’s encounter with Marxism-Leninism on the journey to find a path for the Vietnamese people’s liberation

Since the late 19th century, most countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America became colonies of Western capitalist-imperialist nations. In Vietnam, the Nguyen Dynasty, as the ruling dynasty, transformed from anti-French resistance to collaboration, serving as a pawn for French colonialism.

Under French colonial rule, Vietnamese society faced two fundamental contradictions: the national contradiction (between the Vietnamese people and the invading French colonialists) and the class contradiction (between the peasants and the feudal landlords, between the workers and the bourgeoisie). Two urgent tasks were posed: national liberation and class liberation. Among these, national liberation was considered the fundamental basis for achieving class liberation. To succeed, the revolution had to reasonably address the aforementioned social contradictions. Previously, in order to fulfill the historical requirements of Vietnam, patriotic movements under the guise of feudalism and bourgeois democracy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were vibrant but ultimately unsuccessful. These failures indicated that in Vietnam at that time, national liberation could not be achieved through feudal or bourgeois paths.

With acute political perception and a desire to free the Vietnamese nation and its people from oppression, young patriot Nguyen Tat Thanh (Nguyen Ai Quoc / Ho Chi Minh, 1890–1969) embarked on a journey to find a path to save the nation. This path differed significantly from the paths pursued by previous predecessors.

With a wealth of knowledge and valuable experiences gained from nearly 10 years of traveling and immersing himself in the lives of working-class people in about 30 countries around the world, combined with sharp thinking and acute political perception, he encountered and embraced Marxism-Leninism, Communism, and became the first Vietnamese Communist. The newspaper L'Humanité (Humanity) published the full text of V. I. Lenin’s Preliminary Draft Theses on the National and Colonial Question s on July 16 and 17, 1920. He read it repeatedly and, through the “lens” of a genuine patriot, found the correct path to liberate Vietnam’s nation and country from colonialism. From then on, he wholeheartedly believed in Lenin and followed the Third International. He affirmed, “ Only socialism, communism can liberate oppressed nations and the working people of the world from slavery ” [Ho Chi Minh, 1996, p. 127]. This event marked a turning point in his revolutionary path, transitioning from patriotism to communism, due to the unity of purpose: national liberation and liberation of the suffering working people (over 95% of Vietnam’s population were oppressed workers). Patriotism led him to communism. The theory of Marxism-Leninism outlined the path to liberate other oppressed nations (at that time). Since then, he actively propagated the path of national liberation based on the Marxist-Leninist ideology, which also involved the active movement to liberate the working people of Vietnam, to save the country and its people.

Similar to the situation in China, prominent thinkers following Marxism-Leninism such as Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and Mao Zedong had to “rely on books and materials written or translated by the Japanese to introduce and explain Marxism-Leninism” [Ly Trach Hau, 2015, p. 939]. This meant that the process of accessing Marxist theory had to go through the perspective and interpretation of the Japanese (Japanizing Marxism-Leninism before it reached China). For Nguyen Ai Quoc, the direct approach allowed him to deeply and accurately understand the revolutionary theory.

The path of saving the country and its people, as demonstrated by Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) up to the year 1930, was reflected through various revolutionary activities in which he participated and directly contributed to the establishment of numerous revolutionary political organizations, writing articles, and books. However, the most notable manifestations were seen in the books “The Revolutionary Path” and through the concise political program, the concise strategy, and the summarized statutes that he personally initiated that were adopted during the Founding Congress of the Party (February 1930).

From standing at crossroads to finding a path to follow, there were significant challenges for the leader Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) in terms of how to make the people embrace this ideology. What content should be chosen? How should the dissemination be carried out (referred to as the Vietnamization of Marxism-Leninism), especially when the theories of Marxism-Leninism are highly complex, presenting a significant barrier for a nation where over 90% of the population is illiterate and are under strict educational and ideological control.

2.    The unique and creative aspects of Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) in spreading the path of national salvation and liberation to Vietnam

Firstly, Nguyen Ai Quoc selected the core content of Marxist-Leninist ideology that was suitable for the national liberation and people’s liberation cause.

Understanding the reasons for the failures of the patriotic movements in Vietnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which were due to the lack of a correct revolutionary path, after finding the appropriate revolutionary path, the first thing he needed to do was to immediately disseminate that path of national salvation to Vietnam.

Based on practical circumstances, he decided against mechanically propagating the entire theory of Marx and Lenin, instead choosing the core spirit of Marxist theory on national liberation and class liberation to disseminate in the country. In his works like “ The Revolutionary Path ” or through articles, essays, and the first political Platform , Nguyen Ai Quoc only outlined the fundamental issues of the revolutionary path of national liberation in Vietnam according to Marxist-Leninist ideology, such as defining the tasks, goals, directions, forces of the revolution, the relationship between the Vietnamese revolution and the world revolution, and so on. He did not discuss the general theoretical issues of Marxist-Leninist ideology such as the Two Principles, Three Laws, Six Pairs of Contradictions in dialectical materialist philosophy, nor did he scientifically explain the content of historical materialism such as the theory of socio-economic formations, capitalism, and others.

Therefore, it can be asserted that Nguyen Ai Quoc did not propagate Marxist-Leninist ideology as a scientific discipline or as a “follower” but rather, he “ disseminated the path of national liberation and class liberation based on the standpoint of Marxist-Leninist ideology ” [Pham Xanh, 2001, p. 157]. This was in line with the urgent needs of a revolution and also suited the level of consciousness of the people at that time.

Secondly, based on the assimilation of Marxist-Leninist theory, Nguyen Ai Quoc did not rigidly apply it but flexibly and creatively “Vietnamese-ized” Marxist-Leninist ideology when setting the target and core objective of saving the nation and the people for the Vietnamese revolution.

Regarding the revolutionary goals and directions : Only a socialist revolution is a thorough revolution for the benefit of the majority of the people. “ The Vietnamese revolution is part of the world revolution. Whoever carries out revolution in the world is a comrade of Vietnam ”. The Vietnamese revolution meant a communist society that must go through two revolutions: the national liberation revolution followed by the socialist revolution. These two revolutions are closely related to each other.

Regarding the objects of the revolution : He always clearly defined the targets of the revolution as the imperialist invaders and their lackeys . Capitalism and colonialism are the common enemies of the working class and the labouring people worldwide; the most direct enemies of the people in the colonies. In the “ Fundamental Principles ”, it states: “ To conduct the bourgeois-democratic revolution and the land revolution to advance towards a socialist society ” [Communist Party of Vietnam, 1998, p. 2]. The word “ and ” separates the “ Land Revolution ” from the “ Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution ”. At this time, in general, feudalism was not yet the “common enemy” of the revolution; the immediate and direct enemy was the colonialists who occupied the country along with their lackeys.

Regarding the mission of the revolution : Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) always identified the consistent mission of the revolution during this period as expelling imperialist invaders and feudal reactionary forces. As early as 1912, he recorded his impression when admiring the Statue of Liberty, stating, “ The light on the Statue of Liberty’s head shines across the blue sky, while under the statue’s feet, black people are being trampled upon. When will black people be equal to white people? When will there be equality among nations? And when will women be equal to men? ” [Trinh Quang Phu, 1998, p. 58]. Thus, the liberation of the nation, the liberation of social classes, and the liberation of the working class became great aspirations and key tasks of the revolution. This ideology of Nguyen Ai Quoc was formed even before he encountered Marxism. Between these two tasks, Nguyen Ai Quoc emphasized the immediate goal of national liberation. Even in contemporary China, a country with many similarities to Vietnam, revolutionary figures absorbed and propagated Marxism “ primarily through the study and interpretation of class struggle theory in historical materialism ” [Ly Trach Hau, 2015, p. 944]. This reflects the independent and creative thinking of Nguyen Ai Quoc in defining the tasks of the Vietnamese revolution.

Regarding the nature of the revolution : In the work “ The Revolutionary Path ” (1927), Nguyen Ai Quoc divided the revolution into two types: “ national revolution ” and “ world revolution ” (class revolution). According to him, “ The national revolution has not yet differentiated into classes, meaning scholars, workers, and merchants all unanimously oppose despotism... The successful national revolution in Annam (Vietnam) weakened French capitalism ...” [From Ben Nha, 2009, p. 130]. Therefore, the nature of the Vietnamese revolution in the initial stage was a revolution of national liberation – one that must be carried out prior to the revolution of class liberation.

Nguyen Ai Quoc emphasized the issue of national liberation, considering it the foremost and creatively correct task. At that time, Marxism-Leninism and the international communist movement always emphasized the task of liberating the proletarian class. Because the struggle of social classes was not emphasized, the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam and “The Revolutionary Path” were “ criticized with very harsh words by the dedicated soldiers of the Communist International ” [Vu Quang Hien, 2013, pp. 12–13]. The reason for this is that Marxism-Leninism originated based on the historical and practical foundations of Western society, and the requirements placed on revolutions in Western countries at that time were to liberate social classes rather than national liberation (the task of national liberation had been completed in the bourgeois revolution). However, in the revolution in Vietnam – a colonial country – liberating the nation is a fundamental issue. Fighting against imperialism is not only a prerequisite for liberating social classes but also, from another perspective, fighting against imperialism is the very act of liberating social classes (as imperialism also exploits social classes). From this, it can be seen that “ to liberate the proletarian class, one must liberate the nation ”, and “ both of these liberations can only be the cause of communism and the world revolution ” [Ho Chi Minh, 2000a, p. 4].

After the political Platform and the Thesis at the October 1930 Conference, the issue of territoriality was elevated, considering it as the “core issue of the bourgeois-democratic revolution”. At the Eighth Central Committee Conference, the Party reaffirmed this matter, stating that “the Indochinese revolution in this stage is a national liberation revolution” [Communist Party of Vietnam, 2000, pp. 118–119]. The “strategic shift” during the 1939–1945 period essentially meant a return to the correct content established in the Party’s initial political Platform, which was put forth by Nguyen Ai Quoc at the Party’s founding conference (February 1930).

Regarding the policy of mobilizing forces : In Nguyen Ai Quoc’s work “ The Revolutionary Path ” published in 1927, he clearly stated that “ Peasants are the foundation of the revolution; while students, small merchants, and small landowners also face oppression from capitalism, their suffering is not as severe as that of the peasants; these three classes are merely the revolutionary allies of the peasants ” [Ho Chi Minh, 2011a, p. 288].

In the first political Platform (February 1930), Ho Chi Minh advocated for the concentration of all forces to liberate the nation. The platform identified the forces that needed to be gathered in the revolution as the entire patriotic population, including workers, peasants, petty bourgeoisie, national bourgeoisie, as well as small and medium-sized landlords. In the concise strategy, it is written, “ The Party is the vanguard of the proletarian class, and it must win over the majority of its own class, it must make its own class capable of leading the people... The Party must win over the majority of the toiling masses and rely on the poor peasantry... establish close connections with the petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals, middle peasants, youth, and the New Vietnamese group, etc., to bring them into the camp of the proletarian class. As for the rich peasants, middle peasants, small landlords, and bourgeoisie in Annam who are not clearly counter-revolutionary, we must utilize them and gradually make them neutral. Those who have revealed their counter-revolutionary stance (the Constitutional Party) must be overthrown... ” [Ho Chi Minh, 2011b, p. 3]. Ho Chi Minh made it clear that the struggle for national liberation and class liberation in the East, is different from the West, hence the need to uphold the tradition of national unity and mobilize all patriotic forces [Le Van Tich, 2009, p. 50].

Such a broad policy of mobilizing forces may have led to compromises. Therefore, the first political Platform clearly stated: “ While liaising with different classes, we must exercise great caution and never compromise any of the peasants’ interests for the sake of compromise ...” This directive, while uniting diverse forces, still demonstrated a firm commitment to revolutionary principles and avoided tendencies towards reformism and compromise in the struggle.

Even in the process of recruiting Party members, the Thesis emphasized the broad mobilization of all patriotic forces. The “ Brief Statutes of the Communist Party of Vietnam ” states: “ Those who believe in communism, the Party’s program, and the Communist International, actively engage in the struggle, dare to make sacrifices in accordance with Party orders, pay Party fees, and are willing to work within a Party unit, are eligible for Party membership ”. In addition to workers and peasants, the Party recruited members from various sectors such as students, small traders, and soldiers. This policy reflected the widest possible concept of unity in order to build a national force for the immediate task of national liberation.

When it came to the relationship between the national revolution and the colonial revolution, Nguyen Ai Quoc’s innovation came down to three key points. Firstly, the colonial revolution plays an extremely important role . In his speech at the 8^th Plenary Session of the 5th Congress of the Communist International (23 June 1924), he criticized the “disdainful” views on the colonial revolution held by some delegates. He affirmed that “currently, the venom and vitality of the venomous snake of capitalist imperialism are concentrated in the colonies rather than in the homeland”, and focusing solely on combating capitalism in the homeland is akin to “wanting to kill the snake by its tail” [Uncle Ho, 2003, p. 172]. Secondly, the colonial revolution has a relative independence . At that time, the Communist International was dominated by the perspective that the revolution in the colonial nations must depend on the socialist revolution in the homeland. In the Declaration of the Communist International, it is written: “ Workers and peasants, not only in Annam, Algeria, Bengal, but also in Persia and Armenia, can achieve independence only when the workers in England and France overthrow Lloyd George and Clemenceau, seize State power ”. However, Nguyen Ai Quoc, while acknowledging the close relationship between the colonial revolution and the national revolution, believed that “ the colonial revolution not only does not depend on the socialist revolution in the homeland but can achieve victory first ”, and even “ can assist our brethren in the

West in their mission of complete liberation ” [Ho Chi Minh, 2000b, p. 36]. Thirdly, the liberation revolution of the colonial nations must rely on themselves . Drawing from Marx's theory of class liberation revolution, which states that “ the liberation of the working class must be the task of the working class itself ”, Nguyen Ai Quoc applied and asserted the statement regarding the liberation revolution of the colonial nations: “The endeavor to liberate ourselves (meaning the colonial people) can only be accomplished through our own efforts” [Ho Chi Minh, 2000b, p. 36].

Following on from that, Nguyen Ai Quoc’s ideas were applied, developed, and even diverged from the theoretical content of Marxism-Leninism and the understanding of the Communist International at that time. Consequently, there were moments when these views faced criticism from the International Communist movement. Author Hong The Cong (Ha Huy Tap) in the article “ Commemorating the Three Years of the Establishment of the Indochinese Communist Party ” published in Cahier du Bolsévisme – the official organ of the French Communist Party (Issue 8, 1 March 1933) [Hong The Cong, 1933], criticized the “ major mistakes ” of the Unified Conference of Communist organizations regarding aspects such as “ considering the agrarian revolution as not part of the bourgeois democratic revolution ”, “ mistakes ” in mobilizing large forces, considering “ the guidelines of the Unified Conference are contrary to Leninist theory and the political line of the Communist International... ” and “ mistakes on many aspects ” [Ha Huy Tap, 2006, pp. 151, 266].

Considering the revolutionary context at that time, putting forward different theoretical viewpoints from Marxism was not easy, and receiving agreement was difficult. Therefore, although Nguyen Ai Quoc’s first political Platform (February 1930) presented a precise and appropriate framework for the country’s given circumstances, he still had to compromise under the guidance of the Communist International at the October Conference and accept criticism at this conference (although he attended the October 1930 Conference without objections) [Chu Duc Tinh, 2014]. This demonstrates the skillfulness and flexibility in Nguyen Ai Quoc’s approach to his work.

The reality of the Vietnamese revolution has proven that Nguyen Ai Quoc’s innovative approach to the national liberation revolution in our country was very accurate. Placed in the context of Vietnam and the world at that time, it becomes apparent that Nguyen Ai Quoc’s deviation from the Marxist-Leninist perspective and the Communist International was not simply an act of creativity but also demonstrated his great courage .

Thirdly, Nguyen Ai Quoc demonstrated creativity in using unique means and forms to propagate the path of national salvation.

Since embracing communist ideals, he disseminated the revolutionary path through media outlets, delivering speeches at conferences, writing articles, and producing plays. These works and documents contained patriotic content, exposed the crimes of French colonialism, and called on the people to rise up in struggle. Nguyen Ai Quoc secretly disseminated propaganda materials through sailors on ships. Additionally, a unique aspect of his propaganda efforts was the use of a direct propaganda cadre team – a living propaganda medium [Pham Xanh, 2001, p. 215].

Initially, Nguyen Ai Quoc established the organization “Vietnam Revolutionary Youth” to train a revolutionary cadre and propagate the path of national salvation. After graduating from training courses, the members returned to the country to continue building the organization’s foundations domestically. This method of propagation led to exponential growth in the organization, as the base of the organization quickly expanded nationwide. This propaganda approach not only addressed the issue of illiteracy among the majority of the population but also proved to be effective even when the colonial authorities tightly controlled publishing and the circulation of revolutionary literature.

Nguyen Ai Quoc also selected suitable forms for the propagation process. Based on a solid understanding of the nature of the proletarian revolutionary path, he used the colloquial expressions of the Vietnamese people to convey scientific terms that were otherwise difficult to comprehend. In the article “Class Solidarity” published in Le Pariá No. 25 (May 1924), Nguyen Ai Quoc concluded that “regardless of different skin colors, in this world, there are only two kinds of people: those who exploit and those who are exploited” [Uncle Ho, 2003, p. 130]. This can be considered a simplified definition of class. He also introduced the famous concept of the essence of imperialism – the “twotrunked leech” – an image familiar to Vietnamese farmers in the rice-growing regions. In his book “The Revolutionary Path” (published in 1927), he outlined fundamental issues in a very understandable manner, such as “why we must revolutionize to survive” and “why revolution is the collective effort of the people and not the work of one or two individuals”. This communication style was easy to understand, memorable, and suitable for all audiences (much more accessible than the scientific concepts of class or Lenin’s concept of imperialism).

As a result of the effectiveness of this propaganda, Nguyen Ai Quoc directly trained 75 students of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth organization. By April 1927, a total of 10 classes with approximately 250–300 students had been conducted continuously. After completing their training, most cadres were sent back to the country to propagate and mobilize the revolution and build the organization’s foundations, while some were sent to further their studies at the Huangpu Military Academy (China) or the University of the East (Soviet Union) to develop a future revolutionary leadership. From 1924 to 1929, Nguyen Ai Quoc sent 27 Vietnamese youths to be trained at the University of the East (Soviet Union), including Tran Phu, Le Hong Phong, Ha Huy Tap, Ly Tu Trong, Pham Van Dong. These achievements contributed to pushing back the tendencies of reformism and nationalism within the bourgeois democratic systems, while simultaneously combating the “leftist and rightist” tendencies among the newly arrived “Bolsheviks”, making Marxism-Leninism penetrate the minds of the masses and occupy the leading position and the highest banner in the country’s revolutionary movement at that time.

Fourthly, the choice of target for propagating the Marxist-Leninist path of national salvation also demonstrated the creativity of Nguyen Ai Quoc.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Vietnam was a semi-feudal colonial country. The newly emerged working class was small in number and had low educational levels, limiting their political awareness while having a strong connection with the peasants. Therefore, when propagating the Marxist-Leninist path to the working-class movement, Nguyen Ai Quoc sought to directly reach out to the target audience, which were the patriotic intellectuals from the petit bourgeoisie who had a love for the country and were not deeply influenced by Confucianism.

In 1925, he established the organization “Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth” based on patriotic youth within the “Tam Tam Xa” group. Many patriotic Vietnamese youth were sent to Guangzhou for training. Initially, the members of this organization were mostly youth from the petit bourgeoisie with intellectual backgrounds and a love for the country. In 1927, the proportion of workers in the Youth Organization was only 5% [Pham Xanh, 2001, p. 182]. After graduation, most of the members returned to Vietnam to propagate the Marxist path to the workers’ movement through the “ Proletarianization ” movement in 1928: “Revolutionaries must integrate with the masses of workers and peasants, transform themselves into proletarians, in order to understand communism and be able to propagate communism, educate the Party’s ideology, organize and lead the people’s struggle” ¹. With that purpose, “Proletarianization” essentially aimed to “ redenize ” petit bourgeois intellectuals, following the path that Nguyen Ai Quoc had experienced in his journey of national salvation. Subsequently, the majority of Youth Organization members, through proletarianization, spread throughout the industrial zones, plantations and factories in the country, working and living with the workers, experiencing and understanding their lives of hardship and oppression, witnessing the good qualities of the workers and their revolutionary potential. The materials compiled were summaries from small textbooks used in training classes in Guangzhou, such as “Marxism”, “Critique of Bourgeois Democracy”, “Critique of Trade Unionism”, “Issues of Revolutionary Organization”, and others, in order to propagate communism, teach the Party’s ideology, and organize and lead the people’s struggle.

Therefore, while the working class in Western countries was the direct target for embracing Marxist-Leninist ideas, in Vietnam, the petit bourgeoisie intellectuals played a crucial role as the bridge in this propagation. As a result of the “proletarianization” movement, which promoted revolutionary education and organized and led workers’ struggles, these ideas spread widely and developed vigorously across the country, especially in major cities, industrial zones, and mining regions. Working, eating, and living with the workers, the participants not only disseminated Marxist-Leninist theories within the workers’ movement but also transformed themselves, internalizing the positive qualities of the working class and overcoming the influence of petit bourgeois worldviews and the bourgeois mentality. The individuals who took part in the “proletarianization” movement quickly matured, and many of them became high-ranking Party leaders later on. Assessing the significance and importance of the “proletarianization” movement, the Thanh Nien newspaper, in its issue dated 10 January 1929, wrote: “In order to put an end to the undisciplined behaviour of the failures and impostors, the Party must apply a truly revolutionary educational method. Indeed, all comrades need to ‘proletarianize’ themselves, ‘revolutionize’ themselves to have the same ideals, the same way of life, the same language... Comrades must immerse themselves in the masses, bringing good principles to the villages, factories, schools, and military camps. Comrades must give up luxurious clothing and wear the worn-out attire of the proletarians, becoming workers, farmers, ordinary people... Only through such means can our comrades restore audacity and strength to the young and undeveloped Party cells in our country. And once our comrades and the proletarians merge as one in body and soul, the Party will become firm, and the victory of the revolution will be near” 2.

3.    Conclusion

The history of the Vietnamese people is bound together by one key element: the enduring strength of the Vietnamese nation. Faced with the deadlock of the issue of national liberation and the extreme suffering of the majority of the working people, alongside the failure of ideological systems, finding a path to save the country and its people became a great event, only made possible by an individual with perseverance like Ho Chi Minh with a “dual purpose” – liberating both individuals and the nation.

Studying history to draw conclusions for the present and the future is always a big focus of historical science. Through the study of this issue, it is possible to see the creativity of Ho Chi Minh in propagating the path of saving the nation but also derive valuable lessons and experiences in absorbing the essence of the world to resolve conflicts within the national community. The vital experience is to creatively apply Marxist-Leninist ideology to the specific conditions of the country, always be creative in propaganda work, educating ideology and theory for the working class and labourers, building and promoting the effectiveness and harmony of the national unity bloc, concentrating national strength to fulfill immediate tasks, utilizing all resources to develop the economy and society.

Nowadays, with constant changes in the world and within the country, the task of building socialism led by the Party does not have ready-made models. All these factors require the ruling Party to persistently base its ideology on Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, while always creatively applying theory to practice, using practice to test theory; referring to the experiences of brotherly Communist Parties and selectively absorbing their achievements in socialist construction theory. Practical experience has proven that only through the creative application of MarxismLeninism can the country’s revolution achieve brilliant successes, accomplish the national liberation revolution, and carry out the transformative mission that astounds the world. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the entire world was grappling with the crisis, Vietnam, under the guidance of the Party and the leadership of all levels of government, swiftly stabilized the socio- economic situation, ensured the well-being of its people, and extended care to both domestic and foreign citizens, preventing cases of hunger, cold, and death from the pandemic.

President Ho Chi Minh has been gone for half a century, but his ideals always serve as a guiding light for the Vietnamese nation on the path of development towards the goals of national independence and socialism. Examining and evaluating his activities allows to recognize the innovations in the application of Marxism-Leninism in general, and the dissemination of Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam in particular, which has great theoretical and practical value.