Statue of Lenin

In the middle of this square stands a large bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin, installed in the early 80s to mark the 110th anniversary of his birth. A Russian revolutionary, he founded the Bolshevik Party and became the key figure of the Russian Revolution, which brought an end to the imperial system in 1917. He later emerged as the first leader of the Soviet Union, helping shape a socialist state based on Marxism-Leninism, an ideology that would strongly influence communist movements around the world, including in Vietnam. Hồ Chí Minh encountered these ideas in the 20s and saw them as a theoretical framework for Vietnam’s struggle against colonial rule, and the Communist Party of Vietnam later drew on Marxism-Leninism to guide its political and military strategy. The statue was a gift from the Soviet Union to Vietnam, symbolizing friendship between the two countries, as well as Soviet support for Vietnam during the war and in the years of reconstruction that followed. At just over five meters tall, it depicts Lenin standing in the social realist style typical of Soviet monuments. Today, it is one of the few remaining Lenin statues still visible in Asia, reflecting the lasting influence of Marxism-Leninism on Vietnam’s political history.