Presidents Putin and To Lam addressed the assembled media and delegations: To Lam: Dear President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Dear guests, Correspondents and journalists! On behalf of the party, the State and the people of Vietnam, I cordially welcome Comrade President Vladimir Putin together with the high-ranking delegation of the Russian Federation to Vietnam.
I note examples in several recent posts patterns of Russian behavior that are reminiscent of the Soviet period. In today’s post the leaders of the two countries address each other as “Comrade”, even though Putin is not a member of the Russian Communist Party. In several recent posts there is discussion of support and encouragement of students of other countries studying in Russia. This was a practice in the USSR; I know that many African students in particular received free higher education at Russian universities from the 1930’s onward. In a post a week or so ago there was reference to political officers attached to Russian military units fighting in Ukraine. This reflects the use of “political commissars”attached to units in WWII and Soviet days to ensure that soldiers always understood the reasons they were fighting. I consider all of these positive practices still useful for this modern era.
Good! You're seeing the things I hope more readers see as a result of these many insights into Russia. There're only four self-avowed communist nations remaining, and they don't appear to be going anywhere but up in their health as nation-states. That they interact seamlessly with their neighbors is very important and there's no longer any effort to export communist ideology; rather, the focus is on good governance that increases people's wellbeing--even in DPRK given the ongoing existential threat to its existence.
I note examples in several recent posts patterns of Russian behavior that are reminiscent of the Soviet period. In today’s post the leaders of the two countries address each other as “Comrade”, even though Putin is not a member of the Russian Communist Party. In several recent posts there is discussion of support and encouragement of students of other countries studying in Russia. This was a practice in the USSR; I know that many African students in particular received free higher education at Russian universities from the 1930’s onward. In a post a week or so ago there was reference to political officers attached to Russian military units fighting in Ukraine. This reflects the use of “political commissars”attached to units in WWII and Soviet days to ensure that soldiers always understood the reasons they were fighting. I consider all of these positive practices still useful for this modern era.
Good! You're seeing the things I hope more readers see as a result of these many insights into Russia. There're only four self-avowed communist nations remaining, and they don't appear to be going anywhere but up in their health as nation-states. That they interact seamlessly with their neighbors is very important and there's no longer any effort to export communist ideology; rather, the focus is on good governance that increases people's wellbeing--even in DPRK given the ongoing existential threat to its existence.