Reflecting on the national history in the past XX century, the Vietnamese post office has issued a series of six stamps that reflect key moments in the life of this country.

The first stamp is dedicated to the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3, 1930. It depicts a red banner with a hammer and sickle and revolted peasants. The second stamp shows the birth of independent Vietnam, showing the first President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, reading out the Declaration of Independence, residents of Hanoi protesting at the residence of the French Governor-General in August 1945, and voters participating in the first parliamentary elections in 1946.

The third miniature reflected the events of the military history of the Vietnamese people. Archive photos of the victory over the French colonialists at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the Americans who participated in the "dirty war" tell about the red flag over a French hangar, a tank breaking into the gates of the Saigon presidential palace on April 30, 1975. The stamp's ornament features an image of a dove, a symbol of peace.

The second half of the series focuses on the last decades of Vietnamese history. "Vietnam is being renewed" is the theme of the fourth stamp, which reflects the transformation that began in the country in 1986, when the VI Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam was held. From this congress, Vietnam marks the beginning of the policy of "doi moi" ("renewal"), the essence of which is to allow the development of all socio-economic structures, including the private sector.

"Vietnam on the path of industrialization and modernization" is the theme of the fifth miniature, which shows the symbols of modern production - a power plant, an offshore oil production platform, a satellite and a parabolic antenna.

The series ends with a stamp dedicated to the integration of Vietnam into the international community. It bears the emblems of the United Nations, ASEAN, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Community-major organizations in which Vietnam (symbolized on the stamp by the mythical "lak" bird) aspires to play a prominent role.

On the edges of the vintage sheet are depicted the events of the world history of the XX century - the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, the first satellite, the first cosmonaut, the first man on the moon.

A stamp with the inscription "Vietnam confidently enters the new millennium" draws attention to itself. It is difficult to imagine the future without space distances, and artist To Minh Chang depicted the globe and a communications satellite at the top of the stamp, as well as the national flag of Vietnam - a red cloth with a gold star-pointing skyward. Against its background are the ancient gates of the Temple of Literature, new multi-storey buildings, power lines, an oil rig, rice ears, a satellite dish, and young people at computers. And on the back of the dragon - the symbol of Hanoi - is the email address of the website of the People's Committee of the capital of Socialist Vietnam.

The artist seems to want to say that in the new millennium, Vietnam will continue to move forward under the red national banner, keeping true to traditions, developing agriculture and advanced industries, paying special attention to information technologies. The application is bold, but quite real.

Hanoi city

P. TSVETOV, in-house correspondent for Asia and Africa Today magazine in Vietnam

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