Vol 9, No 2 (2025)

In the context of intensifying competition for influence among major powers, especially between Russia and China, Vietnam has emerged as a key geopolitical actor in the Asia Pacific region in the early 21st century, gaining strategic importance in both countries’ policies. This study explores whether Vietnam, building on its Cold War experience, can continue to effectively balance relations with Russia and China. Employing a historical–political approach combined with international relations analysis grounded in realism and the balance of power theory, the paper examines Vietnam’s foreign policy adjustments in response to both cooperative and competitive dynamics in Russia – China relations.

The article examines the development of trade and economic relations between Vietnam and 12 leading partners – China, Russia, India, South Korea, the USA, Japan, Australia, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore. The article analyzes the dynamics of trade turnover with each individual country, including export and import of products, supply structure, investment volume and number of investment projects, as well as the number of Vietnamese labor migrants and foreign students in partner countries. Particular attention is paid to identifying the key advantages of developing a comprehensive strategic partnership, assessing the possibilities of its adaptation and application in various national economies in the context of a globalized, but increasingly fragmented world system.

Since initiating market reforms, Vietnam has experienced impressive growth, elevating it to middle-income country status. However, following the 2009 global financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, the pace of Vietnam’s economic expansion has slowed. There are growing concerns that Vietnam may be at risk of falling into the middle-income trap, including: i) a deceleration in growth and an increasing risk of falling behind; ii) low labor productivity, which is increasingly lagging behind other nations; iii) low Total Factor Productivity (TFP); iv) inefficient use of capital; and v) slow progress in economic restructuring. To avoid the middle-income trap, Vietnam must adopt policies that promote new drivers of growth required in the era of nation’s rise in parallel with the digital era, the era of innovation and creativity. This article explores the general concept of the middle-income trap, examines the specific challenges Vietnam faces, and proposes strategies to help the country overcome current obstacles.

The text of the fundamental source on the history of ancient and medieval Vietnam that we have – “The Complete Annals of Dai Viet” – covers the events in this country from ancient times to 1675. Meanwhile, the canonical text of this chronicle, distributed in the form of woodcuts at the end of the 18th century, brought this description up to 1740. However, as a result of significant editing of its final part, carried out for political reasons under the first emperors of the Nguyen dynasty (1802–1945), it was radically shortened, and the description of the last 65 years (1676–1740) was completely excluded from it. At the same time, not a single complete xylograph of the original text of the chronicle, as it was formed in the 18th century, has survived to this day. The questions of how and why this happened, and how the original version of the source can be at least partially restored, are the subject of this article.

This article seeks to articulate various facets of the order Lovers of the Holy Cross of Phat Diem Diocese (Dòng Mến Thánh Giá Phát Diệm), one of the local and famous Catholic religious orders in Vietnam. After presenting its history, the article points out characteristics of the organizational structure, monastic life, and social activities of this religious order.

The article is focused on the motherhouse of Lưu Phương community which the author researched during a field trip to in June 2020. Drawing on research methods, including document analysis and participant observation as a part of field studies, this research aims to take a further step in investigating the current situation of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Phat Diem in Vietnam and provides a further understanding of such a local form of religious order within the Catholic Church in the Vietnamese context.

The article presents a monument of Vietnamese literature of the 18th century, “Chronicle of the Journey to the Royal City”, written by a prominent progenitor of the Vietnamese traditional medicine, a man of letters Le Huu Trac alias Hai Thuong Lan Ong. The author's biography is and the work are analyzed within the context of the culture of East Asian countries, as well as the history of Vietnam during that period, characterized by political and social upheavals and a crisis of Confucianism. The study relies on existing translations of the monument into modern Vietnamese and Nguyen Tran Huan’s study in French.

The article is devoted to such an unusual for the Russian language linguistic category as a classifier, questions about the nature, essence and role of which cause discussions both among Vietnamese linguists and Russian scholars dealing with the Vietnamese language. Taking into account the grammatical and semantic features of classifiers in the Vietnamese language, the author has made an attempt to systematize their functions. The usage of classifiers in a sentence is also considered. It is concluded that the adequate use of the classifier is not only a linguistic issue, but also a cultural and psychological one, since it is related to the speaker’s view of the world around. A table is provided in which classifiers are collected with their compatibility with different noun groups.

The article provides an analysis of the development of a specific and profile for the journal branch of Oriental studies in the USSR and modern Russia. The chronology of this branch formation, its centers, leaders and broad diversity of disciplines are revealed as well as importance and number of publications on Vietnam. Practical forms of cooperation between universities and research institutions from both sides are highlighted, not only in the field of social sciences, but also in the natural sciences, thus expanding the state of affairs. The author evaluates the achievements and problems of the industry, and provides a comparison of Russian realities with the organization and level of research on Vietnam by other foreign schools.

The features and results of the monograph for the first time giving a detailed description of this branch evolution are also revealed. Under promotion of coming book by the Center of Vietnam and ASEAN studies in ICCA the author promises to present in it a complete bibliography of titles on Vietnam that Russian scholars published over almost 100 years, together with necessary indexes and popular applications.

The full text of the Joint Statement on Major Orientations for Vietnam-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership adopted on May 10, 2025 in Moscow, is given.

The review examines “Ngoại giao của chính quyền Sài Gòn (1955-1963)” [Diplomacy of the Saigon Government (1955-1963)] by Tran Nam Tien, a prominent Vietnamese historian, which investigates the formation and evolution of the First Republic of Vietnam’s diplomacy during the presidency of Ngo Dinh Diem amid the Vietnam War. The book comprises three chapters: Chapter 1 lays the historical foundation for national diplomacy, Chapter 2 delves into the establishment of foreign policy, and Chapter 3 focuses on Saigon’s relationships with major international actors. In addition to providing critical insights into the novelty, structure, and content of each chapter, the review highlights significant weaknesses that persist, thereby pointing to ongoing opportunities for further research on RVN diplomacy in the future.