Written and produced by Ne-Yo and Chuck Harmony, "Russian Roulette" is a pop, pop-rock and R&B ballad that contains dark, morbid, and tense atmospheric elements in its composition.

Music critics noted the lyrical theme to be a response to the domestic violence case between Rihanna and her former boyfriend, singer and rapper Chris Brown.

It reached the top-ten in over twenty countries worldwide including number one in the Czech Republic, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

It was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting sales of over two million copies in the United States alone.

Other scenes include Rihanna in the woods where she is run over by a car, in a gas chamber, in a padded cell, and shots being fired at her underwater.

"[1] Following a domestic violence case between Rihanna and her boyfriend Chris Brown, media speculated as to whether any song featured on her fourth upcoming album would be about him.

[1] "Russian Roulette" was recorded during summer 2009,[1] at the Roc the Mic Studios in New York City by Marcos Tovar and Kevin Hanson served as an assistant.

[9][10] In an interview with NME, Rihanna explained that she and her management didn't have doubts if "Russian Roulette" should be the lead single as it was very personal and emotional track to her.

[1][15] The song has an instrumentation that features guitars, piano and synths which play over a "heart beat" bass line, accompanied with Rihanna's "affecting" vocals.

[28] The Los Angeles Times' Todd Martens wrote that although the song's lyrics are vague and find people speculating, they "hint at a situation one probably doesn't want to be in the middle of".

[29] Sasha Resende of The Michigan Daily wrote "the ballad, which employs reckless gunplay as a not-so-subtle metaphor for a troubled relationship, achieves its seemingly morbid intent.

"[18] "Russian Roulette" begins with a "searing" guitar solo that later transitions into a "pulsing" beat which stays constant until the end of the song.

The metaphor about the game of Russian roulette is also present in the chorus in which Rihanna sings, "And you can see my heart beating/ You can see it through my chest/ I said I'm terrified, but I'm not leaving/ I know that I must pass this test/ So just pull the trigger."

In the upcoming verse, the character that the singer portrays in the song it's scared that the man talking to her will always have power over, "Say a prayer to yourself/ He says close your eyes/ Sometimes it helps/ And then I get a scary thought/ That he's here means he's never lost.

[15] Will Hines of Consequence of Sound called the song a worthy centerpiece and further wrote that it stands out from other tracks on the album which proves that Rated R "was a cathartic process for the singer".

[21] Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times wrote that although is hard to imagine the song to be played in a car or a club, it's "attention-grabbing stuff, standing in stark—emphasis on stark—contrast to much of the current pop landscape.

[31] The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman wrote that the song is moody but far too deliberate and "has a grab bag of evocative images but never quite jells".

"[34] A staff from MTV Newsroom thought that the single retains some sort of attitude and atmosphere that made Rihanna "such a definitive artist".

[35] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone concluded that works like "Russian Roulette", "a domestic-violence victim's confession whipped into soaring melodrama — tell us why: She was busy saying her piece in the studio.

[37] Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal concluded that the single is a bad Celine Dion song with "barrel-turning revolver noises that actually sound like a can of spray paint being shook up".

In the US, "Russian Roulette" was most successful on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart where it peaked at number one in its seventh week for the issue dated February 20, 2010.

Three men, dressed in black uniforms and wearing dark round glasses circulate the singer, attempting to extort information from her.

The scene then moves to a dimly lit room in which Rihanna sits at a table with her love interest (played by American actor Jesse Williams) opposite.

[76] Following the release of Rated R in the United Kingdom, Rihanna performed the song for the first time at the Nokia promotional concert at Brixton Academy in London.

A reviewer from British MTV stated that "The Barbadian beauty then sat seductively on stage in a throne that even the Beckhams would be proud of to belt out the ballad".

[77] Rihanna performed "Russian Roulette", together with "Wait Your Turn", "Hard" and "Umbrella" on Good Morning America as part of the fall concert series in New York City.

[82] In February 2010, Rihanna recorded Sessions@AOL, where she performed the song, alongside "Hard", "Rude Boy", "Disturbia", and "Take a Bow".

Neil McCormick of The Telegraph, in a review of the Birmingham concert, said, "She kicked off with the homicidal pop-rock ballad Russian Roulette to screen imagery of burning naked mannequins and had shed most of her clothes by her second song...".