The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia hosted a reception to celebrate President Ho Chi Minh’s 120 th birthday in Moscow on May 16.

The function was attended by To Huy Rua, Politburo member and Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC), Nguyen Manh Hung, deputy head of the CPVCC Commission for External Relations, and Most Venerable Thich Gia Quang, Vice Secretary General of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, among Vietnamese guests.

It also saw the presence of Vladimir Buiyanov, President of the Russia-Vietnam Friendship Association, astronaut Victor Gorbatko, who was awarded the title “Hero” by both Russia and Vietnam , and Russian experts who used to work in Vietnam during the wartime.

Recalling President Ho Chi Minh’s life and revolutionary cause, Ambassador Bui Dinh Dinh emphasised his role in founding and fostering the relationship between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union and current Russia .

“President Ho Chi Minh is not only a great leader of the Vietnamese people, who founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, but also an outstanding activist of the International Communist Movement and national liberation movement in the world,” the Ambassador said.

Many Russian guests took the floor, recalling deep impression from their meetings with President Ho Chi Minh and expressing their warm sentiments towards Vietnam and its people.

A series of activities were held in Russia to mark President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday, including the publication of a book on Russians’ impression of Ho Chi Minh, the inauguration of the Ho Chi Minh Institute under Saint Petersburg University , and a ceremony to name the “Ermak” tram in Khabarovsk after President Ho Chi Minh.

President Ho Chi Minh’s 120 th birthday was celebrated the same day in Germany in the presence of German friends who have special bonds with the late President and Vietnam .

Dr.Wilfried Lulei, a prestigious professor on Vietnam , told the participants of his two meetings with President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi and said he is immersing in a study of the late President’s activities in Berlin in 1920.

Hellmut Kapfenberger, former correspondent of ADN - the official news agency of East Germany – and “New Germany” newspaper in Hanoi , recalled the day when he joined ten of thousands of Germans lining up the streets to welcome President Ho Chi Minh on his visit to the Democratic Republic of Germany in 1957.

The Vietnamese version of the correspondent’s book “Chronicle of Ho Chi Minh”, which was published in 2009, hits the bookshelf this year coinciding with the President’s birth anniversary.

Technician Dietrich Carow also told stories about his frequent visits to Vietnam between 1969 and 1978, even during fierce fights against the US imperialists, to train Vietnamese technicians in repairing and operating./.