G. F. MURASHEVA

Doctor of Historical Sciences

The results of more than two dozen market reforms in Vietnam and their impact on many aspects of the development of Vietnamese society were summed up in a collection of scientists, prominent politicians and statesmen who defined the strategy for Vietnam's renewal (Viet Nam sou 20 nam doi moi(Vietnam after 20 years of renewal). Thezoi, Ha Noi, 2008, 364 p.).

Many of them still hold important government positions, so the reader will be able to find first-hand assessments of the ways, methods and goals of reform in Vietnam. Among the authors are a member of the Politburo of the CPV Central Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Doctor of Political Science Nguyen Phu Trong, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Nguyen Zi Nien, current ministers and diplomats, scientists, etc.

The Doj Moi's policy of "renewal" was officially adopted by the VI Congress of the Communist Party in 1986.

In 1996, as part of the development of the concept of renewal of Vietnam, the country adopted a policy of industrialization and modernization based on the development of a multi-structured commodity economy using market mechanisms and maintaining a socialist orientation. The main goal of this project is to transform Vietnam into an industrially developed country with a modern material and technical base, a rational economic structure, modern industrial relations that correspond to the level of development of the productive forces, and a high level of material and spiritual life.

Vietnamese leaders see a major role in this process as the gradual development of the "knowledge economy", which should help reduce the time of industrialization and modernization through the use of high technologies, such as information technology, the use of new materials, etc.

According to the plan of the Vietnamese reformers, the renewal of the economy, the construction of a multi-layered economy using the market mechanism should go along with strengthening the leadership role of the state.

Contrary to the image of Vietnam as a country where foreign direct investment flows continuously in recent years, the Minister of Industry of Vietnam Hoang Trung Hai notes that there are still obstacles that make potential investors not consider Vietnam attractive for investment, despite the political stability and high economic growth rates. Meanwhile, competition in the field of foreign direct investment is getting tougher every day, primarily with China and other countries in the region (p. 162).

According to the Minister, against the background of the goal set to turn Vietnam into an industrially developed country by 2020, the current development is still slow, the pace of industrial development is quite high, but unstable, the competitiveness of products and profitability are low " (pp. 158-159).

The collection notes that the distinctive Vietnamese culture plays an important role as the spiritual basis of society in the process of updating the country.

In particular, new cultural developments have contributed to an increase in the Human Development Index (HDI) in Vietnam. In 2005 Vietnam ranked 108th out of 177 countries in the world by this indicator, rising 4 steps compared to previous years. Vietnamese life expectancy increased from 63 years in 1990 to 71.3 years in 2005. This suggests that with a low average per capita income at that time ($630), progress in culture and lifestyle led to the fact that the Vietnamese HDI is higher than the same indicator in countries with a similar level of per capita income. In 2009, the average per capita GDP of Vietnam exceeded $1 thousand for the first time. ¹

Education as part of culture is a priority state policy in Vietnam, where for a long time attention has been focused on combating illiteracy, as "an illiterate nation is a weak nation" (Ho Chi Minh). In 1997, 93-95% of the country's population over the age of 25 was literate in English.

compared to 88% in 1988 and 5% in 1945 (p. 240).

The authors of the collection made an attempt to ideologically substantiate the Vietnamese model of "socialism with a market face".

Continuing to pursue the course of "building socialism" as a long-term perspective, Vietnamese leaders recognized for the first time the potential of capitalism, emphasizing the difficult, "tortuous path to socialism" (p.298).

In Vietnam, for quite a long time, until recently, there was no consensus assessment of the goal, methods, forms and prospects of doi moi reforms. Many cadres and party members doubted the success of the chosen course. Some demanded the rejection of socialism and the liquidation of the Communist Party, calling for following the capitalist path. Others feared that the party would "stray from the socialist course, break away from Marxism-Leninism and the ideas of Ho Chi Minh" (p. 12).

Over the years of ideological struggle, the initiators of Doi Moi have formulated arguments in favor of the fact that the Vietnamese architects of reforms "update, not change the color", "update, not change the direction", do not stop halfway, but consistently carry out renewal.

"The market economy has both positive and negative features that contradict the essence of socialism," the authors of the collection write. - The stratification of society into rich and poor leads to the polarization of society, the emergence of a cult of money, a situation where money violates public morality " (p. 108). By developing a market economy, Vietnam tries to overcome the negative trends that arise during this process and limit the price that needs to be paid as much as possible.

In the interests of expanding productive capital, the Communist Party of Vietnam advocates the development of all sectors of the economy, including the private sector, essentially agreeing to the stratification of the poor and rich in society. At the same time, it tries to restrain this process, on the one hand, by encouraging "just enrichment", on the other, by making great efforts to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty (p.114).

The anti-poverty program in Vietnam has been implemented for many years in various forms and methods. In the program of social and economic development for 2001-2010, the solution of these problems is set as a priority goal of the state. The poverty index of the population has fallen from 60% in 1993 to 13.1% in 2008.2 Already in the current year 2010, it is planned to reduce the number of poor families to 10-11%3.

Despite the fact that China's reform practice in the 1970s is marked as "an example for Vietnam", in general, the "renewal" case is characterized as having no precedent, as a long-term, very difficult case. Further research, updating and generalization of theoretical and practical results are designed to provide the basis for making a breakthrough in order to quickly bring Vietnam out of the state of underdevelopment and turn it into a modern industrial state by 2020" (pp. 73-74).

The global financial and economic crisis has tested the strength of the Vietnamese economy and all of Doi Moi's reforms. Vietnam has demonstrated significant resilience, supported by timely and fairly effective anti-crisis measures. According to the Vietnam Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2009, the country's GDP growth rate, although it declined, remained at a fairly high level - 5.32%⁴.

Of interest is the collection's material on the renovationist line in the field of foreign policy, which is a continuation of domestic policy and serves the socio-economic development of the country.

A special feature of the Vietnamese school of foreign policy was the tradition of flexible use of what today, after J. R. R. Tolkien, has been called the "Vietnam School of Foreign Policy". Nye, a professor at Harvard University, has been called "soft power"since the early 1990s. In Vietnam, this long-standing national tradition developed in the spirit of the proverb "soft rope knits hard." All the feudal dynasties of Vietnam used the forms and methods of such a policy in their relations with their neighbors (including China). In the Ho Chi Minh era, it was transformed into an attitude of "act according to circumstances", but adhere to the rule: "keep the principles and apply flexible tactics" (pp. 308-309).

In the era of" renewal", the Vietnamese foreign policy doctrine has evolved from the idea of "more friends, fewer enemies" to the concept of "diversity, multi - vector international relations" in recent years. "At the same time, the national interests of Vietnam should be above all else," emphasizes the well - known Vietnamese diplomat Vu Khoan (pp. 309 - 310).

¹ Outlook. Vietnam's Monthly Publication. Ha Noi, Jan. 2009, N 61, p. 4.

² Outlook. Vietnam's Monthly Publication. Ha Noi, Sept. 2008, N 57, p. 6.

³ Dang Cong San Viet Nam. Van Kien Dai Hoi Dai Bieu Toan Qoc Ian thu X (Documents of the X Congress of the CPV (excerpts). Ha Noi, 2006, p. 25, 32, 58, 222.

⁴ Official website of the Central Statistical Bureau of Vietnam. General Statistics Office. 2009 Social-Economic Statistical Data - http://www.gso.gov.vn/default.aspx?tabid=622&ItemID=9466

Permanent link to this publication: