Party General Secretary Tô Lâm laid flowers at the President Hồ Chí Minh Statue in the Hồ Chí Minh Square in Moscow. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

MOSCOW — Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, his spouse, and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on Saturday afternoon (local time) laid flowers at the President Hồ Chí Minh Statue in the Hồ Chí Minh Square and at the memorial stele of Party General Secretary Lê Duẩn in the Lê Duẩn Square in Moscow, Russia.

In a solemn and emotional atmosphere, General Secretary Lâm, his spouse, and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation offered flowers in memory of President Hồ Chí Minh, the beloved leader of the Vietnamese people, the outstanding leader of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the world communist movement, a hero of national liberation, and a great man of culture. President Hồ Chí Minh was also a great friend of the Russian people. He laid the foundation for the traditional friendship between Việt Nam and the Russian Federation.

The activities took place within the framework of General Secretary Lâm's official visit to Russia where he also attended the ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (May 9).

The statue of President Hồ Chí Minh is located in the square spanning an area of 676 sq.m with three landings and eight steps symbolising eight lotus petals. The statue is made of bronze with a height of 5m and is placed on a bronze pedestal 6 metres long and 0.5m thick.

The pedestal below the statue solemnly inscribes President Hồ Chí Minh's saying "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom" in Russian.

This is a familiar place for overseas Vietnamese in Russia during holidays, Lunar New Year (Tết), festivals or their family celebrations.

General Secretary Tô Lâm and the Vietnamese delegation at the Lê Duẩn Square. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

Visiting the Lê Duẩn Square, the Vietnamese delegation offered flowers in memory of Party General Secretary Lê Duẩn, an excellent and close disciple of President Hồ Chí Minh.

Lê Duẩn was an outstanding and brilliant leader of the Party, a creative theorist, full of compassion, simplicity and modesty. In international activities, he made a very important contribution to building and consolidating the special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and brotherly friendship between Việt Nam and the Soviet Union and other socialist brotherly countries.

A red granite memorial stele at the centre of the square is engraved with the words in Russian meaning "Lê Duẩn Square: In memory of the famous activist of the international communist workers’ movement and national liberation, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam, great friend of the Soviet Union, 1907-1986". — VNA/VNS