Dmitry Mosyakov

A Move into the Abyss: Unsuccessful Attempts by the Leadership of the VWP and The CPSU to Understand Each Other's Actions and Overcome the Crisis in their Mutual Relations

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2026, №1(70), 308-333

 
Annotation: The article examines the period of the early 1960s in Soviet-Vietnamese relations, when, despite some attempts to understand each other, the relations between the two parties and countries continued to deteriorate. This negative process was based on a fundamental reason: Nikita Khrushchev viewed Vietnam and its problems as an element of the global architecture in his policy, while the Vietnamese leadership saw the struggle for the unification of the country as a key objective and pursued a policy that was almost 180 degrees different from the Kremlin's wishes. This divergence of views led to Hanoi's refusal to meet regularly with the Soviet ambassador, as well as the withdrawal of Soviet advisers and specialists, and a reduction in military and other assistance provided by the USSR to its Vietnamese friends. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that Khrushchev's doubts, or rather his disagreement and skepticism regarding the success of the VWP's plans for an armed uprising, and his concerns that an escalation of hostilities in the South would lead to an inevitable and active American intervention, were well-founded. The Americans were rapidly increasing their military presence in the South of Vietnam and expressing their determination to defend it at all costs. At the time, the influential part of Vietnamese leadership believed that the chances of the Americans deciding to invade their country were minimal. They were greatly mistaken, but this understanding of the situation led them to believe that they could refuse Soviet assistance altogether and fully side with China in its confrontation with the USSR. All this only aggravated the crisis in mutual relations.

Keywords: USA, China, USSR, intervention, peaceful coexistence, Saigon regime, ideological division