Russell lost his appeal on Wednesday against a two-week ban for making a reckless tackle on Wales' Dan Biggar.
Fit-again wing Tommy Seymour replaces Tim Visser, Euan Murray comes in for Geoff Cross in the front row and Tim Swinson replaces injured lock Richie Gray.
Edinburgh forwards Ben Toolis and Hamish Watson could win their first caps from the bench as Scotland attempt to win their first match of the tournament after defeats against France and Wales.
"We're very wary of Italy and feel that they have improved. They are a team that will be targeting this game, so we must be prepared to roll our sleeves up and work very hard to get a result," Scotland head coach Vern Cotter said.
"We're very focused on what we do and what we want to achieve, which is to apply pressure that yields points, create line breaks and tackle breaks and develop our speed in this game.
"We have youth and experience in this group of players and when we look at our performances, we've improved from one week to the next, so that's positive."
Scotland: 15-Stuart Hogg, 14-Tommy Seymour, 13-Mark Bennett, 12-Alex Dunbar, 11-Sean Lamont, 10-Peter Horne, 9-Greig Laidlaw (capt); 8-Johnnie Beattie, 7-Blair Cowan, 6-Rob Harley, 5-Jonny Gray, 4-Tim Swinson, 3-Euan Murray, 2-Ross Ford, 1-Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16-Fraser Brown, 17-Ryan Grant, 18 Geoff Cross, 19-Ben Toolis, 20-Hamish Watson, 21-Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22-Greig Tonks, 23-Matt Scott.
(Reporting By Michael Hann; editing by Justin Palmer)
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