From historic autumn of 1945 to 2045 aspiration

Eighty-one years after the August Revolution of 1945, its legacy remains a central force in Vietnam’s national trajectory. The country has moved from colonial rule to independence, defended its sovereignty and built its current position. As it pursues major development goals for 2030 and 2045, that legacy continues to drive the national push forward.

Before the August Revolution, Vietnam was under colonial and fascist rule. The 1945 famine killed more than 2 million people. Against that backdrop, the Communist Party and President Ho Chi Minh led a nationwide general uprising that seized power and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. A subjugated people became masters of the state, what President Ho Chi Minh called “an extremely great change in the history of our country”.

Seizing power was only the first test. The fledgling revolutionary administration had to confront hunger, ignorance and foreign aggression at once. From the “rice jar for famine relief” and “Gold Week” to mass literacy campaigns and nationwide resistance, the country joined hands to defend independence. Nine years of war against French colonialism and nearly 21 years against US imperialism followed. Almost three decades of fighting ended in victory, securing independence and reunification.

After the wars, Vietnam faced a different struggle: reconstruction, poverty reduction and the search for a development path under extreme constraints. In 1986, the Party launched Doi Moi (Renewal), opening a route out of crisis, encirclement and embargo toward integration into the world.

Forty years of Doi Moi have transformed the economic landscape. Vietnam has moved from a poor, underdeveloped economy to one of the world’s 34 largest. Its economic scale has expanded almost 100-fold since 1986; per capita income has risen from less than 100 USD to nearly 5,000 USD.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Dy Nien said the eight-decade journey, especially 40 years of Doi Moi, has been defined by shifts in the Party’s approach to leadership and governance, and by the timely removal of development bottlenecks. The 1986 sixth National Party Congress, he said, was a historic marker.

For Vietnam to meet near- and long-term goals, Nien argued that the priorities remain renewing thinking, reassessing the country against global shifts, attracting and using talent effectively, and preserving national identity during integration.

The establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, predecessor of today’s Socialist Republic of Vietnam, has broader significance. Konstantin Ilyich Mogilevsky, Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education and Co-Chairman of the Russian Historical Society, has said Vietnam’s liberation movement was the first in Asian history to overthrow colonial rule through its own efforts and open a new future. That precedent, he said, is particularly relevant.

“The whole world is undergoing profound transformation”, Mogilevsky said. “More countries and peoples are choosing free and independent development based on traditional values. This positive shift reflects the objective maturation of the principle of equality among all stakeholders in international relations”.

Vietnam’s current gains came from generations that endured hardship, made sacrifice, embraced reform and recovered from challenges. Yet substantial risks remain: the middle-income trap, weak labour productivity, an aging population, climate change, inequality, non-traditional security threats, and institutional and business-environment bottlenecks. Corruption, wastefulness, misconduct and bureaucracy among some officials and Party members must still be tackled resolutely.

Eighty-one years after the 1945 Autumn, Vietnam is entering a new growth phase. It is streamlining the state apparatus, moving to a two-tier local administration model, and merging cities and provinces to improve governance and bring authorities closer to citizens. Alongside administrative reform, the country is pushing science, technology and innovation while building up the private sector next to the state sector. Those are key resources for faster, more sustainable growth.

Eighty-one years after the 1945 Autumn, Vietnam is entering a new growth phase. (Illustrative photo: VNA)

The next checkpoints are close: 2030 is four years away, and 2045, the centenary of an independent Vietnam, is 19 years off. The 14th National Party Congress set the development direction and ambitions. The second and third plenums of the 14th Party Central Committee laid groundwork for organisational reform and new operating models, clearing bottlenecks, unlocking resources and creating new development capacity. The 16th National Assembly has been deciding major issues. The goal is a Vietnam that stands alongside the world’s major powers by 2045.

International forecasts support the optimism. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that Vietnam will become the world’s 32nd largest economy by 2029. That outlook reinforces the need to optimise opportunities, stay on course and act decisively to turn the ambition into reality.

The August 1945 General Uprising opened up a new chapter. Eighty-one years later, Vietnam is at the threshold of another transformation, from a developing country to a developed, high-income nation. What links those two autumns is a refusal to bow to adversity, along with the embrace of self-reliance, national solidarity and confidence in the path chosen by the Party and President Ho Chi Minh. Those values are being reinforced through every reform policy and development push. As Party General Secretary and President To Lam said: “To overcome all challenges, we must maintain solidarity, unity in will and action, and place the interests of the nation and people above all else”./.