It was Italy's third straight game without scoring, following 1-0 defeats to Uruguay in November and United States in February.
Cesare Prandelli's Italian side created plenty of chances with Andrea Pirlo enjoying an inspirational first half. A lively Mario Balotelli had an early chance saved by Vyacheslav Malafeyeva but the striker faded in the second period.
But it was scoreless at the break and Russia grabbed three goals in the second half, two from Roman Shirokov and one by Alexander Kerzhakov.
Italy played against the backdrop of the match-fixing scandal that prompted coach Prandelli to drop Domenico Criscito from his squad and Prandelli also said he would not mind his side pulling out of Euro 2012 if it was the right move for football in his country.
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