If watching twenty-two men kick a ball round a field is not your thing but your Other Half is glued to #Russia2018, there’s plenty you can do to create your own Russian vibe. Here’s a quick round-up:

Gill Paul credit @ www.cjansenphotography.com

Gill Paul credit @ www.cjansenphotography.com

Surrender to the brilliant BBC adaptation of War and Peace, now out on DVD. This hugely addictive story of family loyalties, love and tragic loss is set in early 19th-century Russia. Costumes, sets, acting – the whole thing is a sumptuous six-hour banquet. The best Tolstoy adaptation ever.

Mix yourself a Moscow Mule: 30ml fresh lime juice, 60ml vodka and 90ml chilled ginger beer, served in a tall glass over ice. And, like Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s got a kick!

Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is on at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, this June, but if you miss their production, catch it in August at the Coliseum performed by the St Petersburg Ballet. Sumptuous swansdown costumes, soaring music and spectacular leaps.

Go shopping on the Fabergé website (www.faberge.com) for fabulous bejewelled necklaces, state-of-the-art watches, and the ultimate engagement rings. While you’re there, read about the extraordinary imperial eggs the Romanov royal family used to give each other for Easter, now changing hands for a cool £20 million plus.

Half-time snack? Dollop sour cream onto blinis or black rye bread and top with a half teaspoon of caviar. It doesn’t need to be beluga; Tesco does black lumpfish caviar for £2.25 per 100g jar.

Check out Vladimir Ashkenazy, the pianist’s pianist, playing Rachmaninov (there are lots of clips on YouTube). Or you might be lucky enough to catch Grigory Sokolov or Evgeny Kissin live in concert. You’ll be stunned by the technique – how can fingers possibly move so fast? – and even moreso by the emotion. Prepare to get swept away.

Ballsy feminist punk band Pussy Riot made headlines when they were jailed in 2012 for singing in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour to protest about the church’s support for Vladimir Putin. Get up to speed on their story by watching the documentary Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer while wearing a bright-coloured balaclava.

Get the kids involved in a tense Cold War spy game. Write secret messages in lemon juice and leave them in dead-letter drops. The text can be read when it is heated up, either on a radiator or with an iron. Wear disguises and invent ingenious ways to pass on microfilm so it can’t be found if you are stopped and searched by the KGB. The risk? You might get red-carded and sent to a Siberian gulag (the original sin bin).

Follow the great love story of Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld through his glorious, brightly coloured paintings of them flying through the air together, or her floating balloon-like, tethered by his hand (see Birthday or The Walk); and then feel his grief after her death in paintings such as Around Her or The Clock on the Wall.

For a dinner to impress, try the Russian classic Salmon Coulibiac (recipe below): rich comfort food that will help to console your OH when his/her team is eliminated in a penalty shoot-out.

If you have time after all that, might I humbly suggest you consider tackling my Russian novels about the Romanov royal family? The Secret Wife (www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Wife-captivating-romance-passion-ebook/dp/B01D4O804G) is about the relationship between Tatiana, second daughter of the last tsar of Russia, and a cavalry officer. And The Lost Daughter (www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Daughter-bestselling-author-Secret-ebook/dp/B0777PD616) concerns the third daughter, Maria, and her relationship with her captors in their final place of house arrest. Tissues at the ready…

That’s Russia for you: phenomenal talent, emotional highs and lows, nail-biting drama, and copious tears before bedtime. In other words, just like the football…

Salmon Coulibiac

Serves 6

600g salmon fillet

75g butter

75g basmati rice

225ml fish stock

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

120g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tbsp chopped dill

1 tbsp lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

2 tbsp chopped parsley

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry, or a 375g block

1 egg, beaten

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce (optional)

25ml fish stock

200ml sour cream

½ tbsp finely chopped dill

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Lightly butter a sheet of foil, place the salmon fillet in the middle of it, season with salt and pepper then wrap it into a parcel. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and open the foil to let it cool.
  2. Melt 25g of butter in a saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Add the rice and stir to coat all the grains. Add the fish stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes, covered by the lid. Take off the heat and allow to cool.
  3. Melt 50g of butter in another saucepan and add the onion. Cook for about 10 minutes until it softens then add the cinnamon, mushroom and half a tablespoon of dill. Cook for 5 minutes without a lid, allowing any liquid to evaporate. Add the lemon juice and zest and let this mixture cool.
  4. When the salmon has cooled, break it into large flakes and discard the skin. Place in a bowl and mix with the chopped egg and 1 tbsp chopped parsley. Season.
  5. When the rice has cooled, add the mushroom mixture, stir well and adjust the seasoning.
  6. Cut the pastry in half. Roll out the first half to roughly 30 x 17cm, and the second to 30 x 20cm. Place the first piece on a floured baking sheet. Spoon half the rice mixture into a rectangle shape in the middle, leaving a gap of 3cm around the edges.
  7. Spoon the salmon and egg mixture on top of the rice, pressing it into a neat loaf shape.
  8. Add the remainder of the rice on top of the salmon, moulding it carefully and removing any stray grains. Brush the pastry border with some beaten egg.
  9. Lift the second sheet of pastry on top of the salmon and rice loaf and press down the edges to seal. Use a fork to crimp round the border. Brush the pastry with the rest of the beaten egg.
  10. Increase the oven temperature to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7. Place the baking sheet in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The pastry should be golden brown.
  11. If you would like some sauce to go with it, heat the fish stock and sour cream very gently in a small saucepan, whisking to stop it curdling. Season, then add the dill.
  12. Cut the coulibiac into generous slices, dribble with a little sauce (if using), and accompany with new potatoes and your choice of green vegetables.

The Lost Daughter will be published by Headline Review on 18th October 2018, priced £7.99.