Touching Vietnamese-Russian love stories in Vung Tau

Approximately 1,000 Russians live and work in the coastal city of Vung Tau, now part of Ho Chi Minh City, where Vietnamese - Russian romances have blossomed into marriages and many have cherished Vietnam as their second homeland.

Dokuchaeva Alla, a Russian woman married to a Vietnamese man, talked about her memories for the ‘Russian village,’ which locals affectionately call a five-story housing complex for the Russian staff of Vietsovpetro, an oil and gas joint venture.

She also appreciates Vung Tau’s climate and her work at the village's commercial center.

“To me, Vietnamese colleagues are responsible, intelligent, and sincere friends," Alla said.

"If given the chance again, my husband and I would still settle down in Vietnam."

Alla and her husband exemplify couples bound by destiny, helping to bridge two cultures rooted in a longstanding friendship.

More than ten years in the village offers the Russian woman so many comfortable living conditions that she feels like living in her homeland.

Alla always remembers the support she has received from locals.

“In our hearts, we carry the blood of both nations,” added Alla.

Another couple, Nguyen Xuan Tho, a Vietnamese engineer at Vietsovpetro, and his Russian wife Nguyen Oksana, tell a love story as romantic as a fairy tale.

While studying at a maritime engineering university in Russia in 1993, Tho, an exchange student, fell in love with Oksana.

Long walks through pine forests and along Volga River led to their marriage two years later.

Despite her nostalgia for birch-lined landscapes, Oksana’s love for Tho brought her to the Southeast Asian country.

They now have a son and two daughters.

The older two are students in Canada and the youngest attends school in the Russian village.

“I cannot fully express the joy of living under the same roof," Oksana said with a smile.

"I’m proud to be his wife.

"For me, Vietnam is my second homeland as it gives me a stable career and a happy family."

When asked about the inclusion of ‘Nguyen’ in her name, she explained she wanted a part of her heart to belong to Vietnam and that she is the wife of Nguyen Xuan Tho.

Of the approximately 1,000 Russians in Vung Tau, about 600 work for Vietsovpetro and live in the village.

An internal road lined with green trees separates the Russian and Vietnamese residential blocks.

Each afternoon, young Russians and Vietnamese play volleyball to stay fit.

In the evening, residents teach Vietnamese children Russian after working together on offshore rigs.

For over 40 years, Russians have integrated into Vung Tau’s community and become part of the place, contributing to local production, services, entertainment, and tourism.

Vinh Tho - Mai Thang / Tuoi Tre News

(2025/07/03-18:52)