"The most important thing is that this tournament has changed our attitude to ourselves. Many stereotypes were taken down, our country became open, we came to love our national team, our team showed great football. The World Cup was brilliant," Golodets said.

She added that this summer's tournament had impressed her more than the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

"I'm a person who participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics [working there as a student], I attended the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, but the World Cup shook me to the core, with its emotions and its stunning history," Golodets said.

Russia's first-ever FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and ended with a spectacular final at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday, with France beating Croatia 4-2 to lift the World Cup trophy for the second time. Russia reached the quarter-finals of their home tournament after advancing to the knockout stage for the first time since the end of the Soviet era.