He's a professor of Russian History. I don't know what drew him to Russian history - maybe the romantic idea of Russia and the Soviet Union and perhaps the cold war drew him there.

He studied there, fell in love and married, has written a book and he has had some fame but it's on the wane now. He is lonely and arrives in Russia to give some lectures but he is a bit cynical of the whole thing now. The break up of the Soviet Union destroyed his main subject matter and people aren't as interested in it anymore.

He meets up with an old man who tells him this story about a diary. He's not sure if it's Josef Stalin's diary but he knows it is obviously very important.

Kelso gets tangled up in an adventure that takes him up to Archangel in Northern Russia. Once there he is faced with a moral dilemma. The adventure concludes in the discovery of something that could change the course of Russian history forever. Not to mention make Kelso richer and more famous than he could ever have imagined.

He does have a romantic idea of the Soviet Union at the time of Stalin, though he clearly despises what the man stood for. But he turned the country from being a feudal state into a world superpower. It's one last chance for Kelso to prove himself as an historian.

What are Fluke's strengths and weaknesses?

His strength is that he can hold his vodka, and his weakness is that he can hold his vodka!

You are the only British actor here and you are surrounded by Russians, Latvians, Americans. How has this been for you?

It's been fantastic and Jon Jones, the producer, has cast wonderful Russian and Lativan actors who are Russian speakers. Yes, it's been a struggle at times, but it has been very rewarding. The work that we have put into this has been really different and therefore quite exciting.

Where you aware of Robert Harris' novels before?

Of course. Robert Harris' work and that of Clement and La Frenais are renowned.

What do you think the resonances of the story are for people today?

I think there's certainly a hardline element in Russia who believe that a return to communism is the way forward. I think that is a lot to do with is the way we live now, with threats of global terrorism and fear, and the only way to deal with it is with an iron fist. I don't tend to believe this myself, but that is why Putin is so popular because he's so strong. It's strange that we tend to lean towards totalitarianism when the world is in times of trouble and it is amazing that when people are afraid they believe that strength is the only way forward. It's a very Russian thing and history says in Russia that strength has always won through.

Were the historical aspects of the story of great interest to you?

It's incredible history and you can't help but be affected by it. I travelled to the old USSR and remember the wall coming down. As an actor, it's hard not to be drawn to the whole tradition of acting over there. I'd always kept my eye on Russia because of its history. You can't help it really.

How did you find your experience in Moscow this time as opposed to last time?

I was there in 1989 with a theatre tour just before the curtain fell and again just after when it really was Dodge City and it was quite scary to tell you the truth. It's just a very busy vibrant city and still scary. It's an incredibly fast city and you really do see that cross over from east to west. Parts of Moscow have what look like Arabic markets and then you have Nike signs all over the place.

How did you find Latvia by comparison?

Much quieter! Riga has offered beautiful locations but is very, very cold like you wouldn't believe. The temperature reached -16 at one point with three feet of snow!

You have been making feature films for the last few years and here you are making a TV film, what has the change in gear been like for you?

I don't think there has been much change in gear at all. A film set is a film set, there's no ephemera that makes it different. I have always said that we make the best drama in the world and I have no problem with getting involved in British television or the BBC because of that. And it's important that this continues. The language of film is the same no matter where you are: everyone just says the same thing - turnover, cut, go again...!

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