This episode marks Daniela Ruah's directorial debut.
The long form of Sam's first name is revealed to be "Osama"; until this point, it was assumed by viewers that it was "Samuel".
Callen's birth name is Grisha Aleksandrovich Nikolaev.
The episode title "Russia, Russia, Russia" was constructed in a way for the sake of dramatic emphasis, as in all evidence points to the Russian Federation. Also, the title is reminiscent of a phrase spouted by the character Jan Brady to Marcia Brady of the The Brady Bunch (1969), played by Eve Plumb and Maureen McCormick respectively. The phrase being "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia" from Her Sister's Shadow (1971) in a case of sibling rivalry and preferential treatment.