Vol 3, No 4 (2019)

Historically, every step of human society has been associated with the advancement of democracy, and the “Doi Moi” (Renovation) process in Vietnam is no exception. With the principle of “Renovation must be democratic, and democracy for renovation”, the “Doi Moi” process in Vietnam has created a major turning point in the development of the country in general, and in the awareness of democracy and the democratization process in Vietnam in particular. The article discusses both the changes in the Communist Party of Vietnam’s awareness of democracy through its National Congress documents (from the Sixth to the Twelfth National Congresses of the Communist Party of Vietnam) and the process of democracy implementation for about 35 years of “Doi Moi” in Vietnam. The author analyses the achievements and limitations in democratization of the country and propose some basic solutions to accelerate this process in Vietnam.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) appeared in Vietnam about 20 years ago in connection with the beginning of the process of international integration. Multinational companies such as Toyota, Honda, Nestle, Unilever, etc. became the initiators of CSR in the country. Later, some Vietnamese enterprises, especially large export companies, realized the need to integrate social responsibility into a business strategy, considering it as a means of access to the world market. Nevertheless, in Vietnam there is a significant part of enterprises that have not paid attention to this problem due to insufficient knowledge of the role and nature of social responsibility. Most business executives either consider social responsibility to be a heavy burden or identify it with charity. This article both discusses the progress in the implementation of CSR in Vietnam in connection with the growing role of the state, and analyzes the experience of some Asian countries to be used in this area.

This article discusses the funeral rites of the Tho people of Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam as as one of the rituals of transition, which comprises various aspects of Tho social relations and worldview. Study of the ritual practice of small ethnic groups is actual due to the threat of their extinction, the growing influence of dominant cultures, and either the loss or transformation of traditional material and spiritual values because of rapid modernization. The study is novel for its collection of field materials and investigation of unexplored Tho people culture. This novelty is also introduced through the interdisciplinary nature of the research, when funeral rites are explored from the point of view of ethnology, sociology, cultural studies and semiotics. The study has used methods of structural and comparative analysis, namely comparing the components of the Tho people funeral rituals with those of of the neighboring Kinh, Muong and Thai. Such an approach has revealed differences and similarities in the ritual practice of the ethnic groups under consideration, defined mutual influences, and therefore drawn conclusions about the specifics of their world perception, and finally revealed the universals connected with dichotomous concepts of life and death.

The Russian-Vietnamese scientific conference held on November 25, 2019 in Hanoi by the Institute of Party History of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics was devoted to analyze the history and experience of relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in the period 1945-1975. The reports of Vietnamese and Russian scientists were presented, as well including 5 reports of employees of the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies, IFES RAS. Vietnamese scientists have identified the milestones, the basis of a strong relationship between the two parties and states and emphasized that traditions need to be maintained and developed in a new environment in order to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. Russian colleagues have stressed the importance and the major role of Soviet assistance and support at all stages of the long-standing struggle of the Vietnamese people for the liberation of South Vietnam and the reunification of their homeland, and showed how it manifested itself in various fields.

The article reviews a book by Vu Ky, long-term secretary of Ho Chi Minh, about the process of creating the “Testament” of the DRV first president. The translation of the book into Russian was made as part of the Cross Year of Russia in Vietnam and Vietnam in Russia and was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the publication of the “Testament”. The book is a valuable evidence of the last four years of the life of the outstanding son of the Vietnamese people, shows how carefully and thoughtfully Ho Chi Minh worked on every word of the “Testament”, which reflected the experience of his life dedicated to the liberation of his country.

The article is devoted to the anniversary of the famous Russian orientalist Vladimir Moiseevich Mazyrin, head of the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN Studies of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Lomonosov Moscow State University, editor-in-chief of The Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies.