Russia unveils monument to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers

A monument to the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers participating in the defence of Moscow in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) has been unveiled recently at Patriot Park in the suburb of the Russian capital.

A high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence, led by Minister, General Phan Van Giang, attended the event.

The monument, titled “Allies – Vietnamese soldiers”, was sculpted by Alexey Chebanenko. It depicts three Vietnamese soldiers, namely Ly Nam Thanh, Ly Anh Tao, and Ly Thuc Chat, in the Soviet Union’s Red Army uniform protecting Moscow till their last breath.

At the ceremony, General Phan Van Giang talked with Ms. Le Thi Phuong, daughter of Ly Phu San (or Le Phan Chan), who is one of the seven soldiers, and her son, Mikhail Le, who is currently living in Moscow. The general presented Le Thi Phuong and her son with a national flag.

During 1926 - 1930, Nguyen Ai Quoc, later known as President Ho Chi Minh, introduced some patriotic Vietnamese youths to study in Moscow. When German Nazi attacked the Soviet Union, they voluntarily joined the international regiment under the Soviet Union’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, to engage in the fight to safeguard Moscow./.