The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located in Southeast Asia. The sights of this distant country are little studied, but no less interesting and attractive. Tourists come here to enjoy the unique landscapes and grandiose beauty of the ancient eastern temples.
Where is the country located?
Where is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam located, whose sights are attracting more and more attention of foreign tourists?
The state is located in the southeastern part of Asia, on the Indochina peninsula. From the east it is washed warm waters South China Sea, in the west it borders with Cambodia and Laos, and in the north - with China. The area of the country is small (331.2 thousand square kilometers). However, over 90 million people live here.
Vietnam is very elongated in the submeridional direction. The temperature difference between northern and southern regions countries can sometimes reach 10-12 degrees.
The embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located in Moscow. It is located on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya street, house 13. There are also consulates of this distant one in Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg.
Official name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam. and administrative division of the country
The name of the country is very ancient. For the first time it is mentioned in the book of the poet Khiem, written in the 16th century. The geographic toponym consists of two words: viet(Vietnamese - the indigenous and main people of Vietnam) and nam, which means "south", "southern". Complete and official name state today sounds like this: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The country is divided into 58 provinces and five major cities having a similar legal status. Vietnam - monarchy or republic? According to state structure the country is a republic. The main (and only legal) political party in the state is the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Vietnamese, by the way, call it short and concise: party.
The history of the formation of Vietnam
It is worth noting that until the middle of the twentieth century, the state of Vietnam did not exist within its modern borders. For a long time the country remained dependent on France. During World War II, Vietnam was occupied by Japanese troops. At the same time (in August 1945) an uprising led by Ho Chi Minh took place in Hanoi. At a rally of 500,000, he solemnly announced that a new independent state- Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
However, Vietnam did not remain a sovereign country for long. Since Japan officially lost the Second world war, its troops were disarmed. The territory of Vietnam was occupied by the armies of several states at once - China, England and France. The new government of Ho Chi Minh signed a number of agreements with the French side, but it soon became clear that the French intended to restore their rights to Vietnamese territory. At the end of 1946, Vietnam entered the phase of the war, which lasted on its territory for almost thirty years.
At first, the troops of Ho Chi Minh "went into the forests" and fought exclusively in guerrilla battles. But later they managed to go on an active counteroffensive. The so-called First Indochina War ended only in 1954 with the signing of the Geneva Accords, which fully recognized the independence of the young state.
Soon a new round of military aggression in Vietnam began. Another important geopolitical player, the United States, intervened in the situation in southeast Asia, in order to limit the spread of communist ideas in the Asian region. With the direct support of the Americans in the south, a republic was formed with the capital in the city of Saigon. In turn, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), which was actively supported by Soviet Union, decided to reattach its southern territories by force. Thus, on a small patch of Asian land, in fact, two superpowers of the planet came together in a real war.
It continued until the mid 70s. The DRV, with the powerful support of the Soviet troops and with the help of the active actions of its partisan detachments in the south of the country, was able to win this war. The long-awaited merger of the North with the South and the formation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam took place in July 1976. The city of Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the outstanding Vietnamese military leader.
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: attractions and tourism potential of the country
A country not spoiled by tourists - that's how you can characterize the young republic. What is attractive in this state? First of all, it is the unique nature, diverse landscapes, unusual architecture and the hospitality of the Vietnamese themselves.
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, will appeal to any European who is accustomed to big cities, cozy parks and modern buildings. But lovers of antiquity should definitely go to the city of Hue. Here the traveler is met by the most beautiful pagodas, imperial palaces, ruins of ancient fortresses. But in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) you can fully experience the flavor of the old East Asian city.
Lovers of wildlife, as well as a quiet, peaceful holiday, should definitely visit the Dalat mountain resort.
Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is located in Hanoi and is a whole architectural complex consisting of five objects. The ideological leader of the Vietnamese, as you know, did not live to see the unification of the country for which he fought. The construction of the mausoleum in his honor began in 1973.
Today, anyone can go up to the second floor of the grandiose building and look at Ho Chi Minh lying in a glass coffin. The complex also houses the Presidential Palace and the wooden house of the President.
Mekong Delta
Another place in Vietnam that all tourists love is the Mekong Delta. Here you can feel the essence and exoticism of local life in all its glory. The channel of the Mekong River, when it flows into the sea, forms hundreds of narrow branches. For the Vietnamese, this place is as holy as the Dnieper for the Ukrainians or the Nile for the Egyptians.
Some tourists come here for a day or two, while others stay here for a week to calmly swim through the canals and explore the wildest corners of the local landscapes. In the Mekong Delta, travelers are attracted by the houses of local residents, floating markets, plantations of exotic fruits, as well as an island where real coconut candies are produced.
Dalat and Mount Longbian
Dalat is one of the best and most popular resorts in Vietnam. But in the city itself, you should definitely visit Mount Longbyan. From its top, a wonderful view of Dalat, bright green hills and pastures opens up.
The mountain is a thirty-minute drive from the resort and looks like a chain of five peaks of volcanic origin. The height of the highest of them is 2400 meters. You can go to the observation deck of Longbyan, but you can only get to the highest peak on foot.
Conclusion
On the shores of the South China Sea, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located. The sights of this amazing country are rarely mentioned in popular guidebooks. But this makes them even more attractive for tourists and travelers who are ready for new discoveries.
Ancient temples, stunning nature, cordiality and hospitality of the Vietnamese - that's why it's worth going to this state. The Republic of Vietnam is not yet spoiled by tourists, and therefore is looking forward to each of its guests.
Vietnam is a country with a long history, original cultural traditions, mild humid climate and long beaches. Unlike neighboring Thailand, which has long become a land of exoticism, noisy entertainment and bright colors, Vietnam is more traditional, but no less interesting. It is in this country that you can fully experience the atmosphere of East Asia and not get lost in the crowds of tourists.
Vietnam, which was destroyed by the war, today revived the economy, “pulled up” the infrastructure to a decent level and hospitably opened its doors to all tourists who lack vivid impressions. But before you pack your bags and get ready to go, you should learn a little more about this country in order to understand their traditions and culture, as well as their way of life. So let's get to know Vietnam!
History of the origin of the name
First public entities on the Indochina peninsula, on the territory of modern Vietnam, appeared in the 3rd century BC. Then the question of the name of these places and settlements was not yet raised, but very soon, when the Viet civilization settled here for a long time, it was decided to come up with a short but capacious name. This is how the word Vietnam appeared, which consists of two parts: "Việt", denoting the nation of Viet and "Nam", which translates as south. In general, the name was translated as " southern country Viet."
As for the mention of this name in handwritten and printed works, it first occurred in the 16th century. The famous poet Nguyen Binh Khiem, who wrote the great work "The Prophecies of Trang Trinh", indicated in several places - "And Vietnam was formed." Much later, at the beginning of the 18th century, the word Vietnam began to appear in many official documents compiled by Emperor Gya Long. However, along with the name Vietnam, the obsolete colloquial name Annam was often used. It was officially withdrawn from circulation only by Emperor Bao Dai in 1945.
Geographic location and features of Vietnam
The state of Vietnam is conveniently located in Southeast Asia, on the Indochina peninsula. Vietnam borders Cambodia and Laos to the west and China to the north. The eastern and southern provinces of the country are washed by the South China Sea.
Almost 85% of the country's territory is medium and low mountains. In the northern part, there are three long ridges in parallel - Hoanglyenshon (the highest point is Mount Fanshipan 3143 m), Shamshao and Shusungtyaotyay. These ranges are separated by small valleys. In the west of the country, the picturesque Annam Mountains or Truong Son, as they are called in many guidebooks, amaze the eye. In the south and in the center of the country there are several basalt plateaus - Zilin, Pleiku, Daklak, Lamvien. Large, full-flowing Asian rivers, the Mekong and Hongha, also flow through the territory of Vietnam, which then flow into the South China Sea.
Due to the mountainous terrain of the country, settlements here are located very unevenly. The highest population density is recorded in the north of the country, on the Bakbo delta plain. Almost 1,100 people per square kilometer live here. It is in this area that major cities and the capital Hanoi are located. A slightly lower population density (450 people per square kilometer) was recorded in the southwest of Vietnam in the Mekong Delta. Here is the second largest city in the country Ho Chi Minh City.
As for the climate, it varies greatly depending on where the city is located - in the north or south of the country. The southern regions are characterized by hot winters, when the temperature rises above 26 ° C, in turn, in the north, winters are cool (15 ° C) and it is often cold up to 1 ° C, when cold air masses come from China. Frost is common in mountainous areas, but there is not much rainfall, as in the southern regions. In the north, winters are very wet, and in summer, almost the entire territory of Vietnam is watered with numerous monsoon rains. Another climatic "scourge" of the country is typhoons, which often have destructive power. Most often, typhoons rage in Vietnam in late summer or early autumn.
The structure of the state
Vietnam is subdivided into 58 "tinh" - provinces. In addition, there are five more large central cities that have the status of a province (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho and Hai Phong). In terms of population, Vietnam ranks 13th in the world (89.6 million people). A significant increase in the population is recorded annually, amounting to more than 1% of the total population.
Vietnam also boasts a long life expectancy. So, on average, men live here for 70 years, and women for 75 years. Unfortunately, 13% of all women are illiterate, while men have universal literacy.
Concerning ethnic composition of the population, the indigenous Viet people live here, as well as a small percentage of Thai and Thai. official language considered Viet, but some people can also speak Chinese, English, French.
The local religion, which is revered by 80% of the population of Vietnam, is the cult of ancestors - "tho kung to thien." This cult does not have an official dogma, a strict spiritual hierarchy, and therefore the status of a religious denomination is not assigned to it. Nevertheless, the ancestral rites are celebrated by the Vietnamese regularly, and this happens in ordinary Buddhist temples.
Vietnam's governing bodies are the President, the National Assembly and the Prime Minister. The constitution of the country that is in force in this moment, was adopted in 1992. in the provinces and major cities there are people's councils that represent local authorities. Representatives of the people's councils are elected from the citizens for a term of four years.
The ruling political party of the country is the Communist Party of Vietnam, which was established in 1930. At one time, the leader of this party was the influential and charismatic Ho Chi Minh. Until 1988, the Socialist and Democratic parties were also known in the country, which then ceased to exist and provided the Communist Party with the reins of full power. If we talk about other political organizations, then the Fatherland Front of Vietnam, the Union of Communist Youth and the Women's Union also have a certain weight in society.
Economic situation in Vietnam
For quite a long time, Vietnam "departed" from the consequences of the war. And he succeeded. In our time industrial production reached the level of many European countries, in addition, the rise is felt in agriculture. The country actively exports coffee and rice, cotton and tea, as well as bananas and numerous varieties of nuts.
Vietnam can boast of being rich natural resources: coal, manganese, phosphates, chromites and bauxites, as well as large deposits of oil on the sea shelf. Vietnam exports oil and coal to Japan and the USA.
If we talk about industry, then the branches of processing agricultural products, the production of shoes, clothing, shipbuilding and oil production are developed here. The industrial sector employs the bulk of the Vietnamese population. The unemployment rate is no more than 6%.
Short story Vietnam: fight for freedom
The amazing country of Vietnam, which attracts tourists from all over the world to its original culture, has a long history. Did you know that the Viet or Vietnamese, as we used to call this nation, are considered, according to legend, the descendants of Fairies and Dragons. The Vietnamese believe that their progenitor is the sovereign Dragon (Lak Long Quan), who decided that he would transfer power in the country to his eldest son named Hung. This son, according to legend, was born from a fairy bird, which happened so long ago - more than 4 thousand years ago. It was Hung, who gained power in the country, who gave the state the name Wanlang, which lasted until the 3rd century AD. Then the country received the name Aulaq, the state flourished over several centuries and reached the highest development in cultural life, crafts and technical equipment.
Local wars with China
However, Aulac existed until the moment when it was captured by the Nanyue country. For several decades, there were constant wars for power on the territory of the country, dynasties fought, blood was shed. Anti-Chinese uprisings constantly swept through the country, then the time came for the temporary domination of Chinese dynasties in Vietnam. The Chinese occupation of the northern part of the country was long, with constant conflicts from 189 BC to 936 AD. Therefore, although the Kingdom of Vietnam began its existence from the distant 100 years, for quite a long time the territories of Vietnam were part of China. Vietnam and China fought for a long time, and after the first opium war, Vietnam took a tough stance against China, from where the drug was distributed around the world.
Vietnam is a colony of France
Then came a quiet time of independence and local rulers ruled their country until 1860, until the time when the time came for colonial dependence on France. The French pursued an offensive policy, while three countries (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) formed French Indochina, and the territory of Vietnam itself was divided into three parts artificially. After that, a state monopoly was introduced on opium, salt, alcoholic beverages, and some other goods. The construction of horse-drawn roads began to be encouraged, and some other positive changes were introduced. However, the Vietnamese could not be indifferent to the colonization of their country, they desperately resisted, and during the period of French occupation there were two Franco-Vietnamese wars, as well as a powerful anti-colonial liberation partisan movement accompanied this historical period. This continued until the thirties of the twentieth century.
At that time, the Communist Party of Vietnam was founded, and its leader Ho Chi Minh began to expand the influence of the party, its ideals throughout the country. During the Second World War, the communists managed to lead an uprising in the southern part of the country, which, however, ended unsuccessfully, and organized quite strong unrest in the north of the state. The year 1941 was marked by the fact that Ho Chi Minh organized the League of Struggle against the Chinese and French occupation, since militaristic Japan managed to occupy the country and during 1941-45 the long-suffering Vietnam remained under the rule of the Japanese.
August 1945 went down in history as a revolution, during which Emperor Bao Dai renounced power, and on September 2 of the same year, the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was announced. The government was headed by Ho Chi Minh himself, he also became the president of the country. France categorically refused to recognize the independence of its colony, uprisings broke out, the French tried to win over part of the local population to their side. In addition, there were many representatives of the victorious troops, in particular, the British, on the territory of Vietnam. This continued until 1954, that is, the period when the French troops were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. The international community insisted that France immediately stop its predatory and aggressive actions against Vietnam. And on July 20, 1954, the well-known convention on Vietnam was signed.
Vietnam War
According to this agreement, the state was temporarily divided into 2 parts (North and South) along the 17th parallel, and joint elections were scheduled for July 1956, which were supposed to unite South and North Vietnam. The world community has recognized the existence of 2 states: the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Northern Vietnam). However, this decision was sharply opposed by the United States, which was categorically against the spread of communism in Asia. A confrontation began, free elections were disrupted, the purpose of which was to unite the country.
The government of North Vietnam tried with all its might to unite the country, a decision was made on the forceful reunification. The government from Saigon (South Vietnam), on the contrary, took the side of the North Americans. From 1957 to 1960, there were constant clashes between supporters of the "southern" and "northern" policies. All this could not but lead to an armed conflict.
US military operations against North Vietnam intensified, and in 1965 the first air strikes were carried out against the territory of North Vietnam. The Americans committed atrocities, used modern weapons, the number of American troops in the country reached 550 thousand people. However, it was not possible to break the proud people. Even the death of the leader Ho Chi Minh did not change the outcome of the battles, the North Vietnamese created many partisan detachments that penetrated deep into the South of the country. The Americans began to fail, there were many deaths, dissatisfaction with the war in American society grew constantly, and in 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed in Washington.
On April 30, 1975, deprived of the strong support of the North American United States, the South Vietnamese troops surrendered Saigon. Thus, the country was united and the 17th parallel, temporarily dividing the territory, became unnecessary. According to military sources, about 2 million people died as a result of this brutal and senseless war. It must be said that the USSR was categorically opposed to this aggressive war, helping the rebels during the hostilities with provisions, weapons, but did not participate in military forces.
Historians are still arguing about the number of north american soldiers who committed suicide after the end of this senseless war. According to the most minimal estimates, their number reaches 30 thousand people.
Unification of the country
Saigon began to be called Ho Chi Minh City, in 1976 a new Constitution of the country was adopted, banks were nationalized. It should be noted that the restructuring of the economy and putting it on a socialist footing in the south had a negative impact on the ethnic Chinese who have lived in the territory for centuries. The period of emigration began and about 750 thousand people left the country, about 50% of whom were Chinese. Vietnam also sharply opposed the Pol Pot regime in neighboring Cambodia (Kampuchea), sent in its troops to overthrow the Pol Potites. China, however, remained on the side of the ruling Cambodian regime. All this did not lead to the strengthening of friendly and business ties between neighboring nations, which so often throughout history have been in conflict with each other.
In 1979, the Vietnam-China War took place. On initial stage the army of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was able to stop the military forces of China, while the Chinese army suffered losses in numbers. Then the diplomatic forces of the USSR intervened in the conflict, and China stopped the armed intervention, however, periodic military confrontations were observed on the border of the territory of Vietnam until 1991.
Vietnam tried to copy the socialist model of government, but since 1986 the inevitable policy of economic liberalization began. The country has ceased to be closed to external relations and is now happy to receive tourists from all over the world.
For now political power the country is stabilized, the Vietnamese are enjoying the peaceful skies they rightfully deserve.
The flourishing country, known to us as Vietnam, was mastered by man in the Paleolithic era. By the end of the III millennium BC. a significant part of the current state turned out to be inhabited by various tribes, in which modern anthropologists see relatives of the current Khmers and inhabitants of the islands of Southeast Asia. At that very time, in the far north, in the lower reaches of the great Chinese Yangtze River, lived a people who were destined not only to take possession of the hot lands of the south, but also to give them their current name. Representatives of this nationality called themselves La Viet. In the middle of the II millennium BC. the Laviet quickly settled on the fertile plains of the Red River Delta. As often happens in history, weaker predecessors were partly forced out and partly assimilated.
Somewhat later, the ancestors of modern Thais came to Vietnam, entrenched in the mountains in the north of the country. The tribes that left under the onslaught of the Laviets to the south eventually gave rise to many peoples of modern Indochina, primarily the Chams (or Tyams).
In 2879 BC a powerful leader (Vuong) named Hung (Hung Vuong) managed to unite the independent La Viet clans into a single tribal union Vanlang. It is believed that it was thanks to him that the state of Vietnam appeared on the world map many centuries later. Although Hung Vuong was more of a military leader than a monarch, he managed to retain power for his offspring, giving rise to many noble families of ancient Vietnam.
In 257 BC Vanlang was defeated by the inhabitants of the north. The leader of the victors, An Duong (most historians consider him a Chinese), created the Au Lac state with its capital in Koloa, a “snail fortress” in the northern regions of present-day Vietnam. Although the era of Au Lak quickly declined, it is considered the time of the final formation of the statehood and culture of the La Viet. Au Lak soon became part of the Namviet (or Nan Yue) state, which occupied the territory of both modern North Vietnam and vast areas of South China. Interestingly, the capital of Nam Viet was located on the site of the famous southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The power of Nam Viet, which was more than enough to conquer Au Lak, turned out to be insignificant in comparison with the power of the Chinese Han Empire, which easily swallowed up a small southern kingdom at the end of the 3rd century. BC. This event marked the beginning of a long period of complete dependence of Vietnam on its vast northern neighbor. Until the 7th century the area of the former Nam Viet was called Giaoti (in China - Jiaochzhi), and then acquired the well-known historical name Annam, which means "pacified south".
Although at first the Chinese, like the Mongols in Rus', did not interfere in the internal affairs of the conquered people, confining themselves to the regular collection of tribute, their dominion was accompanied by resistance that did not fade for a minute. It was in those days that the fighting qualities of the Vietnamese were formed, which so struck the aggressors of modern times. Not only men, but also women resisted. Sometimes the fearless Vietnamese even stood at the head of the uprisings. In the 40s. AD the warrior sisters Chyng Chak and Chyng Ni succeeded in expelling the Chinese from the country for three years. Two centuries later, an uprising broke out under the leadership of the heroine Chieu. Alas, the inequality of forces sooner or later doomed all the performances of the Vietnamese to defeat. As a result, by the I-II centuries. AD the country lost the last grains of independence and China began to exert a strong influence on the culture, economy, politics and religion of the conquered country - an influence that is still felt at every step.
For eight long centuries, Vietnam was under Chinese rule. If the Middle Kingdom at that time was gradually weakening, losing control over its vast territories, then Vietnam, on the contrary, rallied and accumulated strength. In 938, the Vietnamese feudal lord Ngo Kuyen raised an uprising and threw off the hated foreign yoke. The new ruler again proclaimed the capital city of Koloa and restored the spirit and traditions of Vietnamese antiquity at the court. By the 11th century, when the Li dynasty came to power, the country, which changed its name to Dai Viet (Great Viet), was no longer inferior to the most powerful powers in terms of development. Far East. At this time, the capital of Vietnam for the first time becomes the city of Thang Long - modern Hanoi. By expelling the Chinese, the victors borrow much from their statecraft. As early as 1070, a Confucius temple was erected in Thang Long, a national academy (Khan Lam) was created, and a system of state exams according to the Chinese model. In the XII century. Confucianism finally becomes state religion Vietnam, while Buddhism and Taoism begin to play the role of folk beliefs. A strengthened state completely restores its lost positions - at the end of the 13th century. it successfully repels the invasion of the Mongols and even expands its possessions by adding the northern mountainous regions and the lands of the southern Chams.
At the beginning of the XV century. the country is once again in deep crisis. Taking advantage of the strife that arose as a result of the unpopular transformations of Emperor Lee Ho Kyui, the troops Chinese dynasty Ming in 1407 again capture the country. This time, Chinese rule does not last long - after only 20 years, the united nation again drives out enemies. The rebel leader Le Loi proclaims the creation of the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788) and implements reforms that began the "golden age" of medieval Vietnam.
In the 30s. 17th century The state of Dai Viet, formally still headed by the kings of the Le dynasty, split into two rival destinies belonging to the Trinh and Nguyen clans. The top of each clan generously distributed land holdings to their supporters. The amount of land at the disposal of the treasury was rapidly decreasing, while the need for money for military expenses, on the contrary, was growing every day. To solve this problem, the leaders of the clans resorted to the old method - without further ado, they increased the exactions from the population. The result of the ruthless extortion of taxes was a peasant war, known as the "Teishon Rebellion" and broke out in 1771. The rebels were led by three brothers, one of whom, Nguyen Hue, proclaimed himself emperor in 1788. The last king of the Le dynasty was forced to seek help from his "brother" - the militant Chinese emperor Qianlong from the Qing dynasty. He willingly responded to the call, and the Chinese troops again invaded the country, but the Teishons quickly inflicted a crushing defeat on them in the battle near Thang Glong on January 5, 1789. It seemed to everyone that after such a success, the power of the "people's" emperor would be unshakable, but after all three years Nguyen Hue suddenly died. This was immediately taken advantage of by the head of the Nguyen clan, commander Nguyen Phuc Anh. Having gathered their own squads and relying on the help of France, the Nguyen managed to defeat the rebels. In 1804, Nguyen Phuc Anh took the throne name of Gia Long, moved the capital to Hue and became the first emperor of the dynasty, which remained on the throne until 1945.
19th century: Vietnam under French rule
Looking for a way to deal a decisive blow to their opponents, the feudal rulers of Vietnam in the middle of the 17th century. began to resort to the help of Europeans, who could not boast of numbers, but had military technologies unknown to Asians. If the Trinh clan entered into a military alliance with the Dutch, then the Nguyen preferred to take advantage of the support of the French. Their decision turned out to be correct: the Dutch quickly lost interest in Indochinese affairs, and Cheeney was left without "military advisers". The British at that time were too busy conquering India. The French, not feeling pressure from other European competitors, made the Nguyen conclude a very advantageous treaty, which provided for the first territorial acquisitions of France on the peninsula. It happened in 1787, but the French Revolution soon broke out, followed by years Napoleonic Wars. All these "misunderstandings" made France forget about Eastern affairs for a long time. Once again interested in the "Indochinese question" in the 20s. In the 19th century, Paris realized that there were not enough forces for a full-scale invasion. Over the next 30-plus years, France operated in Vietnam mainly by the method of intrigue, the threads of which were concentrated in the hands of missionaries and all kinds of adventurers. Meanwhile, the Nguyen dynasty, having gained power, did not at all seek to pay generous "dividends" to its overseas allies, leaning out of harm's way to a "closed door" policy. In France, they understood that it was impossible to open these “doors” without guns, and for the time being they took a wait-and-see attitude. Favorable conditions for the invasion developed only by 1858. The successful completion of the 2nd Opium War against China for Europeans, in which France took an active part, allowed Napoleon III to send impressive forces against Vietnam - 2.5 thousand infantrymen on 13 ships armed with last word technology. Spain also took part in the expedition, putting up one warship and 450 soldiers. On August 31, 1858, the combined forces under the command of Admiral Charles Rigaud de Genoui approached the port of Da Nang. The next day, before the expiration of the ultimatum, the city was taken by storm.
The French invasion from the first days ran into fierce resistance from the imperial troops and the local population. The failures forced the commander to change tactics: instead of fruitless attempts to dismember the country in its central part, he decided to win a foothold in the south. This path gave the conquerors huge advantages, because in the territory they occupied there was the most necessary thing - water and food. The abundance of waterways in the Mekong Delta made it possible to control the country with the help of gunboats, and the key role of the region in the production of rice made it possible not only to feed its soldiers, but also to put the uncompromising emperor Tu Duc on a “starvation ration”. The next blow was directed at the Zyadin fortress, not far from which, on the banks of a full-flowing river, there was a conglomerate of 40 settlements - the future Saigon. In February 1859, the invasion troops defeated the Vietnamese troops and captured the fortress. Despite the defeat, the Vietnamese did not lose their presence of mind - they quickly gathered reinforcements and kept the foreigners under siege for three whole years. The fact that in 1860 the French had to fight on two fronts also played into the hands of the patriots: they were forced to transfer part of their expeditionary forces to China, whose authorities also stubbornly refused to obey the will of the West.
In February 1861, French forces concentrated off the coast of Vietnam, including 50 warships and 4,000 troops. infantry corps under the command of Admiral Charne. Under the onslaught of this rati, resistance was broken, and on June 5, 1862, Emperor Tu Duc was forced to conclude an agreement that gave the French three southern provinces of the country - Zyadin, Dinh Tuong and Bien Hoa; an indemnity of $4 million and the right to trade in the ports of Vietnam. In the occupied territories, a colony of French Cochinchina arose with a center in Saigon.
A year later, France asserted its dominance in Cambodia. Three southwestern provinces of Vietnam - Vinh Long, An Giang and Ha Tinh - were sandwiched between French possessions. The rivers that connected the two parts of the French colonial possessions were under the control of Vietnam, which did not suit Paris in any way. Inviting the emperor to voluntarily "cede" three provinces and not having received consent, the French in June 1867 resolved the issue by military means. Huge possessions were in the hands of the colonial authorities, which they disposed of at their own discretion. They organized a system of administrative control headed by the governor. At the same time, on the ground, the French were only at the head of the provinces, and the lower positions - from the prefect to the village headman - were occupied by the Vietnamese. During the first ten years of French rule (from 1860 to 1870), rice exports from the Mekong Delta quadrupled. New ports and shipyards were built, the Indochina Bank was established, and Saigon became a flourishing European city. For the "opponents of progress" in 1862, the famous penal servitude on Con Dao Island in the South China Sea...
Meanwhile, the north of Vietnam, or Tonkin, as the Europeans called it, continued to attract the eyes of newcomers. In annexing these territories, the most important role was played by the entrepreneur-adventurer J. Dupuy, who in 1872 led a trading expedition to the basin of the Red (Hong Ha) River. Not forgetting about personal gain, Dupuis had to fulfill the secret assignment of the colonial administration: to ensure the presence of "French interests" in Tonkin and provoke the Vietnamese authorities to hostile actions. The latter gave rise to another military expedition. In October 1873, Major F. Garnier joined Dupuis with a detachment of 180 marines. Reinforced from Cochin China, this small force captured Hanoi and the principal cities of the five provinces within three weeks. At the same time, the crowded city of Ninh Bin surrendered to a detachment of ... 10 people! The reason for these miracles was a large number of opponents of the emperor in the north of the country. Major Garnier himself died in battle, but his expedition became another "eastern victory" for France. In 1874, another treaty was concluded with Vietnam, which allowed France to subjugate all the foreign trade of the "Annamites" to its control and deploy its troops in Tonkin "to guard the consulates." The number of this contingent was constantly increasing and by the beginning of the 1880s. reached such a size that it made it easy to complete the occupation of the country. However, here the French had to face an obstacle - as it turned out, Qing China also claimed a tidbit. Considering North Vietnam as its own "patrimony", Beijing was not afraid to enter into conflict with a powerful European power. The Franco-Chinese war lasted for a year and ended, as you might guess, with the victory of modern European weapons. The new success of France coincided with the death of Emperor Tu Duc. In August 1883, French troops occupied the imperial capital of Hue, and five days later the "Treaty of Arman" was signed, establishing French dominance throughout the country. At the same time, Kochinchina (South Vietnam) remained a colony, and Annam (Central Vietnam) and Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) were declared protectorates, nominally subordinate to the emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. In 1884-1885. agreements were signed between France and China, according to which Beijing fully recognized French acquisitions and renounced any claims to the lands of Indochina. In 1887, Vietnam and Cambodia were united in the Indochinese Union, and in 1899 Laos was added to it, which became a French protectorate by 1893. Thus, France became the owner of huge Asian possessions. However, she did not have to rest on her laurels for long: in the mountains and jungles of the conquered peninsula, pockets of guerrilla warfare flared up, which escalated into the 20th century. to the national independence movement.
XX century: in the fire of wars and revolutions
At the end of the 19th century, a patriotic movement called Can Vuong - "In Defense of the Emperor" gained great weight in Vietnam. Its participants from among the officials and scientists were peace-loving, moderate in their demands, and saw their ideal in a constitutional monarchy. In the rural outback, on the contrary, there were enough people who were inferior to the city "freethinkers" in education, but who did not miss the opportunity to arrange a plentiful bloodletting of the hated teys ("people of the West", i.e. the French). Hoang Hoa Tham, the leader of the resistance in the Yenthe region, was the most widely known among such daredevils. Companions treated him with great respect and called him De Tham - "Commander Tham". A born military leader and an unsurpassed connoisseur of the area, De Tham for a long time, like a splinter, haunted the French with lightning raids. In 1894, the colonial authorities were forced to offer De Tham something like autonomy, giving him full control over the territory of four volosts. Such a handout did not suit the old partisan, and the jungle war unfolded with renewed vigor, ending only with the death of De Tham in 1913. The comrades-in-arms of the fallen commander, like many other rebels, took refuge in China, where the Qing authorities, wanting to annoy the French, watched to their presence through your fingers.
As in British India, leadership in the Vietnamese liberation movement at the beginning of the 20th century. gradually began to pass into the hands of energetic young people who received a Western education, but did not break away from their people. Many of them were fond of fashionable at that time radical political doctrines. Among these "revolutionaries of the new generation" belonged the son of a rural teacher Nguyen Ai Quoc, known throughout the world under the name of Ho Chi Minh. Active political activity"Father of Vietnamese Independence" began in 1922 in Paris, where he created the Intercolonial Union of Colored Peoples, which became the progenitor of the current Communist Party of Vietnam.
By the beginning of 1930, there were already three communist organizations in Vietnam and the border regions of neighboring countries - the Communist Party of Annam, the Communist Party of Indochina and the Communist Union of Indochina. A significant contribution to the popularity of the "faithful and omnipotent" doctrine in Indochina was played by the Comintern, tirelessly nurturing the cadres of the Vietnamese communists (at the end of the 1920s, more than fifty "Annamites" studied Marxist wisdom in Moscow), on February 3, 1930, a unifying a conference of three parties, culminating in the creation of the Communist Party of Vietnam, immediately renamed the Communist Party of Indochina. Although Ho Chi Minh did not participate in the forum, he contributed huge contribution in the common cause of the Vietnamese communists. With his direct participation in May 1941, a militant organization of the party arose - the League of Struggle for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh). In 1940, Japanese troops entered the territory of Vietnam. Despite this, unlike the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore, French Indochina formally continued to remain under the control of the colonial administration: Tokyo was forced to observe "decency" in relation to Vichy France, which made peace with the countries of the Nazi axis. In March 1945, in an effort to free their hands to organize the “last line of defense”, the Japanese finally removed the French from power in the colony, but their time in Vietnam was coming to an end: on August 15 of the same year, the island empire capitulated. The situation was immediately taken advantage of. partisan detachments The Viet Minh, who emerged from the jungle and took control of the entire country in just 11 days. On September 2, 1945, in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the establishment of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). Less than a month later, French troops began to arrive in Saigon, but active hostilities of the 1st Indochina War did not begin until December of the following year. Both opponents were strong enough, and the scales leaned in one direction or the other. During the first three years of the war, the Communists lost control of South Vietnam, where in 1949 a state was established, led by Emperor Bao Dai, a pro-modernist who wore European clothes and married a Christian of humble origin. After the establishment of the communist regime in China, the military assistance of Mao Zedong tipped the scales towards the DRV. France was saved from a quick defeat by the United States, which for the first time openly appeared on the stage of the Indochinese historical drama. Only in June 1954, after the defeat of 13 thousand. army corps near the town of Dien Bien Phu in northwestern Vietnam, the French government agreed to negotiations. The Geneva Peace Agreement divided Vietnam into a special demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel. The agreement provided for the gradual unification of the country, taking into account the interests of the population of the South. Violating the terms of the agreement, the leader of the Saigon nationalists Ngo Dinh Diem in October 1955 proclaimed the creation of an independent Republic of Vietnam south of the 17th parallel, becoming the first president of the new state. The "Saigon regime", rapidly acquiring the features of a dictatorship, already in 1957 found itself in a state of war with numerous guerrilla groups of its opponents. In 1959, Hanoi openly proclaimed a policy of uniting the country by military means and provided the southern partisans with all-round support. Supplies of weapons from the north went along the famous "Ho Chi Minh trail", laid bypassing the demilitarized zone through the territory of Laos and Cambodia. By the end of 1960, the partisans controlled a third of the territory of the south. They even formed their own government, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, better known as the Viet Cong. Seeing the inability of their president to resist the "Reds", the Saigon military conspired, which ended in 1963 with the overthrow and murder of Ngo Dinh Diem. In an effort to regain positions lost in the fight against the communists, the subsequent leaders of the republic, Duong Van Minh, Nguyen Khanh and Nguyen Van Thieu, relied on American help.
American war
The leaders of the "free world" viewed South Vietnam as an obstacle to the expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and the PRC and considered it their duty to maintain the strength of this barrier. In the first years after the French left Asia, US aid to Saigon was expressed mainly in military supplies and financial injections. A few military advisers from across the ocean were engaged in planning operations and carried out technical assistance. The first regular units of American aviation were transferred to South Vietnam in 1961. The situation changed dramatically in August 1964 after the mysterious battle between the American destroyer Maddox and North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Without denying the very fact of the collision, Hanoi claimed that the American ship had violated the maritime border of the DRV. The US government, by contrast, portrayed what happened as a treacherous attack that took place in international waters. The reaction followed immediately. August 5, 1964 American naval aviation attacked North Vietnam for the first time. The main consequence of the "Tonkin Incident" was the resolution of the US Congress, allowing President Lyndon Johnson the direct use of American soldiers in Southeast Asia. After some hesitation, the White House decided to use the received right, and in the spring of 1965 the first two battalions of the American marines. At the same time, regular bombardments of the territory of the DRV by US aircraft began.
By the end of 1965, the number of American troops fighting in Vietnam exceeded 180 thousand people. In addition to the American ones, Australian military units were deployed in Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand. The most combat-ready American units were engaged in the search and destruction of Viet Cong units in the northern provinces of the Republic of Vietnam, as well as along the border of Laos and Cambodia. Other military contingents guarded important sea and air ports, military bases and territories cleared of partisans. In the spring of 1966, the Viet Cong began to receive help from like-minded people. Units of the North Vietnamese army, armed with first-class Soviet and Chinese "gifts", began to penetrate into South Vietnam from the territory of the DRV. In response to this, the American command had to urgently create a chain of fortified points along the southern border of the demilitarized zone. During 1965-1967. military operations in Vietnam were becoming more and more "hot" in nature, while cruelty against peaceful peasants was allowed by all participants in the conflict ... Having exchanged quick blows, the opponents retreated to their bases for regrouping, and then everything was repeated with exhausting monotony. The American command was forced to transfer more and more reinforcements to Indochina. The losses of the expeditionary forces grew, and public opinion The US began to ask the government uncomfortable questions about the advisability of war.
Despite some tactical successes, none of the parties to the conflict managed to gain the upper hand. In January 1968, having concentrated all their forces, the army of the DRV and the Viet Cong delivered a sudden blow to the Americans in several directions at once. The operation, timed to coincide with the lunar New Year's holiday, went down in history as the "New Year Offensive", or "Strike on Tet". Despite the monstrous loss of life, the communists achieved important results: the American troops were demoralized, and for the first time in the White House they thought about how to get out of this impassable bloody quagmire. By this time, the international prestige of the United States was crying bitter tears, and anti-war speeches in the country itself threatened to develop into actions of open defiance. When General W. Westmoreland, commander of the American forces in Vietnam, demanded another 200,000 soldiers from Washington, promising to put an end to the bloodless Viet Cong, President L. Johnson refused. On March 31, 1968, the president addressed the country, announcing the cessation of the bombing of the DRV, readiness for peace negotiations and the completion of his own political career after the expiration of the term of office.
Beginning in 1969, the United States headed for the "Vietnamization" of the war. This meant that from now on the main burden of the fighting was to fall on the shoulders of the Saigon army. Despite this, American troops continued to fight in Vietnam until the beginning of 1973. In 1970, the fire of the war flared up even more, and the fighting spread to the territory of Cambodia and Laos. Gradually, it became clear to everyone that the victory had been lost once and for all. The Viet Cong controlled 4/5 of the territory of the Republic of Vietnam. In the offensive of the North Vietnamese army, which began in the spring of 1972, more than 120 thousand people participated with the support of armored formations. The American command was still trying to influence the situation by resuming the bombing of North Vietnam, but already on January 27, 1973, an agreement was reached in Paris, according to which the United States completed the withdrawal of its troops from Indochina four months later.
The departure of the Americans did not yet mean the end of the war. In the ranks of the South Vietnamese army, there were about a million fighters, and in terms of its firepower, it surpassed the troops of the DRV by seven times. American aid to Saigon for two recent years its independent existence amounted to 4 billion dollars. Although the troops were withdrawn, 26 thousand American advisers and specialists remained and continued to work on the territory of the country. Despite this, offensive Ho Chi Minh, launched by the troops of the DRV and the Viet Cong in March 1975, ended with the fall of the Saigon government on April 30th.
The outcome of a long-term civil war was predetermined by the decision of the government of South Vietnam to rely on overseas soldiers. Whatever the Viet Cong was, it won in the eyes of the population in comparison with the regime that let outsiders into the country. The Americans themselves not only had no respect for the culture and traditions of Vietnam, but also turned the country into a testing ground for new products of their military-industrial complex. All this came at a heavy price. Only the combat losses of American troops in Vietnam amounted to almost 50 thousand people killed, while the wounded numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The war left a deep mark on historical memory and culture of America. More than three decades after the end of the war, in 2007, about 2,000 US servicemen continued to be considered missing in Indochina...
Postwar years
On April 25, 1975, five days before the fall of Saigon, general elections were held for the National Assembly of a united Vietnam. By the end of the year, the winners managed to carry out the nationalization of banks and large private businesses in South Vietnam. Having achieved the uniformity of the economy in accordance with socialist principles, on July 2, 1976, the authorities officially decided to reunify the country and create the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). In the same year, the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam was merged with the adjoining city of Tholon into a single agglomeration, named after the leader of the Vietnamese revolution - Ho Chi Minh City.
With the support of the Soviet Union, the new state managed to achieve worldwide recognition. September 20, 1977 the country became full member UN. Relations with the USSR were formalized in 1978 by the Treaty of Friendship and Partnership. The leadership of the PRC, on the contrary, was extremely dissatisfied with Vietnam, which "changed" Beijing and Moscow and actively interfered in Chinese policy in Southeast Asia. In 1978, the Vietnamese troops occupied a significant part of the territory of Cambodia and overthrew the ruling Khmer Rouge regime, supported by China. In addition, by carrying out socialist transformations in their own country, the Vietnamese communists affected the interests of ethnic Chinese, who traditionally occupied key positions in the field of trade - especially in the South. This led to a mass exodus of Chinese from Vietnam, during which more than 300,000 people left the country.
On the morning of February 17, 1979, units of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China invaded the border regions of North Vietnam. Easily breaking the resistance of the border guards and local militias, the Chinese troops occupied Lao Cai, Lang Son, Mong Cai and other Vietnamese border cities. A short-lived and very strange war began, during which aviation was not used, diplomatic relations between the warring countries were not interrupted, and their contacts along the party line did not stop. Already on March 5, China announced its "victory" and began the withdrawal of troops, which ended on March 16. Perhaps the Soviet Union played a role in making such a hasty decision, putting strong pressure on Beijing. The choice of sides in the conflict, which received the ironic nickname of the "first socialist war", is still not known for certain. The conflict complicated relations between Vietnam and China for a long ten years. The tension that reigned on the border of the two countries, from time to time resulted in armed clashes. Despite the “pacification” that followed as a result, disagreements still persist between the PRC and Vietnam over the ownership of the islands of the South China Sea.
The authoritarian methods that prevailed in the leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the era of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland, Le Duan (1969 - 1986), led to the fact that in the mid-1980s. The country's economy was in deep crisis. The death of the all-powerful leader and the example of the Soviet "perestroika" prompted the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party to proclaim in 1986 the course of "Renewal" (Vietnamese doi moi), which included measures to liberalize the economy. Fortunately for the country, the Vietnamese leaders nevertheless preferred to be guided on the path of transformation not by the Soviet, but by the Chinese experience...
1990s not very favorable to Vietnam. With the collapse of the USSR, the country lost its main support, and integration into the world economy was complicated by the hostile attitude of the United States. However, all the difficulties only stimulated the implementation of reforms, allowing the world to show another "miracle": from a poor totalitarian country, Vietnam suddenly turned into a self-sufficient and rapidly developing power, whose economic growth could not be slowed down even by the devastating Asian crisis of 1997-1998. The new era brought a change in foreign policy priorities: in 1991, ties with Beijing were completely normalized, and three years later, diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States were restored. In 1995, Vietnam became a member of the authoritative ASEAN organization, and in 1998, a member of APEC. In 2004, the next summit of the ASEAN member countries was held in Hanoi.
The mixing of the population of Vanlang with the coming Auviets occurred by the 3rd century BC. Already in 258 BC. Aulac, the state of the Lakviets and Auviets, arises. Coloa became the capital.
King An Duong-vyong became a victim of betrayal by his Chinese commander Zhao Tuo: he stole his son, taking the king's daughter as his wife. The Chinese captured Au Lak, calling himself the king of the new state of Nam Viet.
Chinese era
In 111 BC. The Han Chinese overthrow the last monarch of the Chieu Dynasty. Nam Viet was divided into 3 territories: Gyaoti, Kyuutyan, Nyatnam. The Chinese came to power in Vietnam.
Resistance to the new authorities resulted in a series of uprisings. Warrior women also showed themselves: the sisters Chyng Chak and Chyeng Ni expelled the Chinese from their country for three years. This was not the last female-led uprising in Vietnam. The rebellion under the leadership of Chieu, the national heroine, is also inscribed in the history of the country.
However, all resistance, both men and women, were doomed. By 1-2 centuries AD China has robbed Vietnam of the last vestige of independence. For a long 8 centuries, with interruptions, the Chinese ruled the country. Until the 10th century, the capital was the city of Hoaly. Only in 938 Vietnam gains independence thanks to the uprising that was raised by Ngo Cuyen, a Vietnamese feudal lord.
The Li dynasty is on the throne in the country by the 11th century. The state changes its name to Dai Viet (Great Viet) with the capital Thanglong (Hanoi).
The Chinese were expelled, but their "traces" were visible in Vietnam. In 1017, a temple of Confucius was built in the capital, and the national academy Ham Lam was created. In the 12th century, Confucianism was recognized as the state religion.
In the 13th century, the country was already able to repel the invasion of the Mongols into its territories. From 1257 to 1288, the Mongols encroached on the lands of the Vietnamese three times. Vietnam is joined by areas in the mountains, as well as the territory of the southern Chams. The history of the Cham people can be learned by visiting the Cham Museum, opened in Da Nang.
Emperor Lee Ho Kyui led his country into strife and political crisis. China immediately took advantage of the situation, and since 1407 the Ming dynasty rules in Vietnam. After 20 years, a simple fisherman Le Loy leads an uprising against the invaders. A beautiful legend about the “Lake of the Returned Sword” in Hanoi is associated with it (we talked about Hoan Kiem Lake in one of our articles). The Late Le dynasty (1428-1788) comes to power. The "golden age" of medieval Vietnam begins.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Daviet was shaken by the confrontation between the two clans Chin and Nguyen, although the kings from the Le dynasty formally rule. Clan leaders generously distribute land, spend state money, which leads to an increase in exactions from the population. The result of such a reign was the uprising of the Teyshons (1771), led by three brothers. Nguyen Hue, one of them, proclaims himself emperor in 1788.
A king from the Le dynasty asks his brother for help. And his brother was Qianlongu - the emperor from the Chinese Qing dynasty. The Chinese army attacked Vietnam. The decisive battle near Thang Long (1789) brought victory to the Vietnamese and retained the throne of Nguyen Hue. However, after 3 years, the king suddenly dies. Commander Nguyen Phuc Anh gathers an army and, with the support of France, calms down the rebels. In 1804, he sits on the throne, calling himself Gia Long. The capital is moved to the city of Hue. In the same year, the next name of the state was approved - Vietnam. The dynasty ruled Vietnam until 1945.
Thai Hoa, the Palace of Supreme Harmony, was built in 1805. In the palace, the emperor gathered his subjects for state affairs. The imperial throne made of gold, covered with a veil woven with precious threads, is also kept here.
