The strength of the Vietnamese army in the Dien Bien Phu battle came from wisdom, ingenuity, and bravery, a professor from the Saint Petersburg State University of Russia said about the Dien Bien Phu Victory 70 years ago (May 7, 1954).

Professor Vladimir Kolotov, head of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at St. Petersburg University in Russia, was interviewed by the Vietnam News Agency on the promotion of President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology in the modern age as his 131st birthday on May 19 approaches.

Vietnam’s new leadership have recently been on the radar of Russian scholars and media, especially after Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call with the Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and sent his congratulations to newly-elected leaders of Vietnam.

China’s announcement of the establishment of the so-called “Xisha district” (Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago) and “Nansha district” (Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago) within the new “Sansha city” will escalate tensions in the region, a Russian researcher on Vietnamese studies has said.

Many overseas Vietnamese in Russia and France are looking forward to the 12th National Party Congress, hoping it will set fourth judicious decisions and create impetus for the country’s development.