In the mission, the player controls Army Ranger PFC Joseph Allen, who—whilst undercover for the CIA with the alias Alexei Borodin in an attempt to gain the trust of Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov—participates in a mass shooting by Makarov's group at a Moscow airport.

Journalists at the time described its plot as illogical and claimed that the ability to skip it rendered it pointless,[1] but have since discussed its importance to the video game industry.

[3] In the level, the player controls Joseph Allen, an undercover CIA operative tasked with infiltrating and gaining the trust of a Russian ultranationalist terrorist organization led by Vladimir Makarov.

[11] Members of the development company Infinity Ward initially wanted to make a level where the player would pilot a Lockheed AC-130 and kill zombies in Moscow.

[12] Lead writer Jesse Stern believes people have an innate desire to experience mass shootings firsthand, and says that this belief inspired the idea of having the player control a terrorist.

[11] Stern cited documentaries about the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the Columbine High School massacre as evidence, and said: "These are human beings who perpetrate these acts, so you don't really want to turn a blind eye to it.

"[11] Game designer Mohammad Alavi was heavily involved in the level's development, from programming the artificial intelligence to directing the motion capture used for the character animations.

[12] In a 2012 interview, Alavi said he had three goals while working on "No Russian": "Sell why Russia would attack the U.S., make the player have an emotional connection to the bad guy Makarov, and do that in a memorable and engaging way.

[13] "No Russian" initially featured a limited amount of gore, a decision that was changed when the wife of lead artist Joel Emslie questioned the authenticity of such a level without blood.

[18] James Stephanie Sterling of Destructoid was more positive, as they thought that it was a statement that video games could discuss controversial topics, which they felt that many developers would often shy away from.

They felt if "No Russian" was able to make players question whether the deaths of innocent civilians were justifiable, then video games could finally be considered an art form.

He found the plot to be illogical, criticized the skip feature for rendering an artistic statement as "laughably pathetic", and ultimately summarized the level as "dumb shock".

[30][31] In their game summary, the BBFC wrote: "The evident brutality in this mission does carry a focus on the 'infliction of pain or injury' which, along with the disturbing nature of the scenario it sets up, was felt to be more appropriately placed at the adult category.

"[30] British Labour Party politician Keith Vaz was "absolutely shocked" by the content of "No Russian", and questioned whether sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 should be halted in accordance with the Byron Review.

ACCM president Jane Roberts said: "The consequences of terrorism are just abhorrent in our community and yet here we are with a product that's meant to be passed off as a leisure time activity, actually promoting what most world leaders speak out publicly against.

[34] Many Australian gaming publications called for the implementation of an R18+ rating, which was opposed by Attorney-General of South Australia Michael Atkinson, who felt that "No Russian" let players be "virtual terrorists".

Walt Williams, the lead writer for Spec Ops: The Line, remarked that the development team wanted to make the scene feel organic, and explicitly sought to avoid the "clumsiness" of "No Russian".

[38] In his book, Playing War: Military Video Games After 9/11, Matthew Payne analyzed three controversial levels from the Call of Duty series, including "No Russian".

He suggested that Allen's death emphasized the militainment theme of the soldier who sacrifices themselves for the greater good and that the level rationalizes morally suspect operations as long as they serve under the guise of national security.

[41] Reviewing the game Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered in 2020, Wired's Julie Muncy called "No Russian" "crass and stupid", feeling it had no clear reason to exist and that the horror of its gameplay was forgotten about once over.

[43] Following heavy indication that the then-upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) would feature its own version of "No Russian",[44] PCGamesN's Jack Ridsdale questioned whether it was wise for the series to revisit the level and if it could be as impactful as the original.

The reporter stated that the level was reminiscent of the bombing, and quoted Fox News analyst Walid Phares as saying terrorists could be using video games as training tools.