Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship Monument

The Cambodia–Vietnam Friendship Monument in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

, capital of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, is a large concrete monument commemorating the former alliance between

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and Cambodia. It was built in 1979 by the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

regime that took power after the Cambodian-Vietnamese War, which overthrew the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

regime. The monument is located at the Botum Park near the centre of Phnom Penh not far from the

Royal Palace This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent. Africa * Abdin Palace, Cairo * Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo * Koubbeh Palace, Cairo * Tahra Palace, Cairo * Menelik Palace * Jubilee Palace * Guenete Leul Palace * Imperial Palace- Massa ...

. It features heroic statues of Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers in the "

Socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

" style developed in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the 1930s, together with images of a woman and baby representing Cambodian civilians. The monument is in a popular park in the middle of the city. The monument has occasionally become a political focal point. On August 30, 1998, during post-electoral protests, a mob climbed onto the monument with hammers, poured gasoline on it and set it on fire. Authorities repaired the monument two months later. On July 29, 2007, a bomb exploded at the base of the monument, causing little damage. It is believed that the bombing was orchestrated by ultra-nationalist Cambodians. Buildings and structures completed in 1979 1979 establishments in Cambodia Monuments and memorials in Cambodia Buildings and structures in Phnom Penh Cambodia–Vietnam relations {{Cambodia-struct-stub