From Russia with mayo: the story of a Soviet super-salad

As we chop we sing along to the rom-com on TV, “The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!”, a subtly anti-Soviet satire from 1976 set on New Year’s Eve, full of songs and catchphrases that every Russian knows by heart.We’re making Olivier salad, the centrepiece of New Year’s Eve, which in Russia is more important than Christmas.