Viktor Petrov - a Soviet Friend and an Unprecedented Solidarity Movement with Vietnam

	Statue of President Ho Chi Minh Inaugurated in St. Petersburg
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The flame of unity from Moscow

In a conversation with Vietnamese reporters, Viktor Alekseevich Petrov could not hide his pride as he recalled the days when the entire Soviet Union turned to Vietnam. He quoted a slogan that was widely spread by the Soviet Committee to Support Vietnam: “Every Soviet citizen, especially all Communist Party members, every morning when they wake up, they need to think about what they need to do for Vietnam and what more they need to do to support Vietnam.”

Viktor Alekseevich Petrov during his visit to Vietnam to attend activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam. (Photo: Thu Ha)

The Soviet Committee to Support Vietnam was established in 1965, based on the initiative of prominent social activists, artists, and painters of the Soviet Union, and received support from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the United States escalated its military operations against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Committee’s main task was to support the Vietnamese people's just struggle in the international arena.

From its inception, the Committee quickly grew into a major center for mass mobilization. Workers in most enterprises, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of thousands, voluntarily contributed a day’s salary to the Vietnam Support Fund. Even Pioneer Truth, a Soviet children’s newspaper with a daily circulation of 20 million copies, continuously called on children to donate to their Vietnamese friends.

Petrov stated that, thanks to the substantial financial and material support for Vietnam, the Soviet Peace Foundation was able to sponsor up to 50 Vietnamese delegations each month. These delegations initially traveled to the Soviet Union, and later to Europe and other parts of the world, to present and promote Vietnam’s perspective on the international stage.

His Soviet Committee to Support Vietnam also played a key role in fostering global mass movements in solidarity with Vietnam. In France, this support contributed to the formation of the Versailles Conference in support of Vietnam. In Sweden, under the leadership of lawyer and parliamentarian Hans Göran Franck, a tribunal was established to examine and discuss US war crimes in Vietnam. Petrov further noted that the Committee invited American soldiers who had deserted during the war to Moscow, where they spoke out about the crimes of US imperialism in Vietnam. These testimonies were later shared across various European countries, amplifying international awareness and condemnation.

"I have participated in many international support movements, but the movement for Vietnam was unprecedented in terms of scale. It is a vast and widespread movement throughout the world," he said.

He explained that the Soviet people, having endured immense suffering and loss during the Great Patriotic War, deeply empathized with the hardships and sacrifices faced by the Vietnamese during their struggle. They empathized with all their hearts with the just struggle of the Vietnamese people against the American aggression. "This was a profound source of spiritual, moral, and political strength of the Soviet people regarding the events in Vietnam," he stated.

Deep impression

In Petrov's memory, the image of Nguyen Thi Binh, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Head of the Negotiation Delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, left the deepest impression.

Viktor Alekseevich Petrov (fifth from left) was awarded the Medal "For Peace and Friendship among Nations" - the most prestigious award of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, January 2023. (Photo: Thu Ha)

Graduated from the French major at the Moscow State Pedagogical University of Foreign Languages ​​(now the Moscow State Linguistic University - MGLU), from 1973, Petrov was assigned to accompany Nguyen Thi Binh on various business trips to Moscow. She often called him by the intimate name "Viktor". Petrov accompanied her to meetings with Soviet leaders, speeches at Moscow State University, visits to the Taman Tank Division barracks, and the renowned Kremlin Military School.

Recalling those days, he said: "Everyone was very impressed with her intelligence and work expertise (...) She was a great woman, and I still keep the best feelings about her". Petrov admired not only the intelligence, ingenuity, and courage of Nguyen Thi Binh as a diplomat, but also recognized in her “a surprising combination of femininity and the fighting spirit of a soldier.”

He also spoke with deep honor about having met two of Vietnam’s most remarkable women. Alongside Nguyen Thi Binh, he had the privilege of working with General Nguyen Thi Dinh during her visit to the Soviet Union. “I hold a warm affection and profound respect for the great women of Vietnam,” he shared.

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