In a picture taken in the mid-1930s, Chiang Ching-kuo sat next to a blonde girl on a river near the city of Sverdlovsk in Russia.

The girl with curly hair cut short in the fashion of Europe at that time was Faina Vakhreva, who later became known as Tuong Phuong Luong, the wife of Chiang Kinh Quoc, the son of Chiang Kai-shek.

"We met after she graduated from a technical training school. I was her superior. It was the person who understood my situation best. Whenever I had a problem, she always said

From a factory worker in the Soviet Union, Faina entered the Chiang family after marrying Chiang Kai-shek, accompanied her husband to Taiwan during the civil war, and continued to accompany him when he came to power on the island.

"Her whole life is a story of complete adaptation and transformation," said analyst Mark O'Neill, author of the biography of "The Quiet Wife of Chiang Kinh Quoc".

An orphan born in eastern Belarus in 1916, Faina spent the early years of her life in poverty, raised by her sister.

Tuong Kinh Quoc speaks fluent Russian and likes vodka.

Life in the Soviet Union at that time was quite struggling, food was scarce.

"She never returned to Russia after leaving with her husband and children in 1937. That's not what she expected. Faina wants to spend her life with her husband in the Soviet Union," O'Neill said.

"Faina comes from a normal family, does not know Chinese, then suddenly meets Tong My Linh, the most calm Chinese woman in the world. She is rich, well-dressed, comfortable with people,

Chiang Kai-shek is said to love her grandson very much.

Faina and his son went to Zhejiang province to live with Mao Phuc Mai, the first wife of Chiang Kai-shek and the mother of Chiang Jing.

When Chiang was entrusted with more and more responsibilities by his father, Faina also became active as the wife of a local civil leader.

Faina's role in the family diminished after they moved to Chongqing, southwest China, where Chiang Kai-shek became his father's key adviser.

"Right after 8 months of suffering, she had to go to an unfamiliar place while waiting for her husband's news," O'Neill said.

Tuong Kinh Quoc is rated as a more moderate person than Chiang.

All three of Faina's sons later died of diabetes and cancer early.

Elizabeth Chiang, wife of Faina's third son, described her mother-in-law as a lively and cheerful person who often told jokes in Russian or Chinese.

She also tried to control her husband's craving for alcohol and sweets when diabetes devastated his health.

"Her husband asked not to ask about politics and work. She agreed, accepted her motherhood and housewives faithfully, supported her husband unconditionally," O'Neill said.

Despite the waves and unfaithfulness of her husband, the relationship between Faina and Chiang Kai-shek continued for the rest of her life.

Faina died of complications from lung cancer in Taipei on December 15, 2004 at the age of 88, 16 years after her husband died.