Songfacts®:

• This song is a light-hearted homage to the idea of the Russian party lifestyle. Williams said: "Part of the British identity is that we all believe we're the best at partying, most nations think that of themselves... but there ain't no party like a Russian Party."
• Robbie expanded on the song's meaning on his website:
  
  "It's about hedonism and the spirit of partying. It's not about being Russian, but it's about partying like a Russian. The person singing is a bit me, and a bit a character. But all of my songs are."
• The song was written by Robbie Williams and his old collaborator Guy Chambers. The pair penned his early hits such as "Angels" and "Rock DJ."
• Robbie includes a few words of Russian on the song. They are:
  
  Spasiba ("Thank You")
  
  Raz, dva, tri, chetyre ("One, two, three, four")
  
  Stoli (short for "Stolichnaya", a Russian vodka)
• The song samples the strings from "'Dance of the Knights" by Sergei Prokofiev, which BBC TV viewers will recognise as The Apprentice's theme tune.
• The video sees Robbie Williams playing the role of a larger than life Russian oligarch. The Russians didn't like the way the clip pokes fun at the oligarch's outlandish lifestyle and grandeur, and it provoked a backlash, with the country's state TV channel Vesti suggesting it was a stunt intended to boost the singer's popularity. "There's 147 million people in Russia and I don't want to upset them in any way," said the singer.