Lydmila Efimova, left, the granddaughter of independence patriot Yi Wi-jong and her daughter Yulia Pisculova attend a press conference in Seoul, July 16, 2019, to promote a book about Yi and the Korean independence movement. Yonhap

Lydmila Efimova, the granddaughter of independence fighter and diplomat Yi Wi-jong, died of old age in Russia on Monday, local time, her bereaved family and the Embassy of Russia said on Wednesday. She was 89.

Efimova is the great-granddaughter of Lee Beom-jin, the first envoy of the Korean Empire to Russia, and the granddaughter of Yi, who was sent as a special envoy to the Second Hague Peace Convention in 1907 to challenge a treaty that was used to justify Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea.

Yi Wi-jong / Korea Times file

Yi played a crucial role in representing Korea at the conference, using his fluency in English, French and Russian to negotiate with representatives from various countries as a special envoy.

Afterward, Yi dedicated himself to the independence movement in the cities of Vladivostok and St. Petersburg in Russia.

During her lifetime, Efimova worked as a chemical engineer and created a group of descendants of independence fighters in Russia in 1995, and participated in several interviews and publications on the Korean independence movement's history.

In 2015, she was granted Korean citizenship and a passport along with her daughter Yulia Pisculova, in line with the special naturalization for descendants of independence fighters.

Pisculova, who studies Korean history and conducts academic activities on Korea-Russia relations, remembered her mother, saying, "Efimova has always respected Korea, proud that her historical homeland is an independent and prosperous country, and was always grateful to help the descendants of independence patriots and preserve the memories of the Korean independence movement," she said.

The funeral ceremony will take place at a church in Moscow on Thursday, attended by bereaved family members and the Korean Ambassador to Russia, Lee Do-hoon.