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Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName RUSSELL INVESTMENT CO
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Mar. 01, 2013
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading RUSSELL GLOBAL REAL ESTATE SECURITIES FUND
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading Investment Objective (Non-Fundamental)
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock                The Fund seeks to provide current income and long term capital growth.
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading Fees and Expenses of the Fund
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock                The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold Shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Russell Funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in the Front-End Sales Charges section and the More About Deferred Sales Charges section beginning on pages 216 and 219, respectively, of the Prospectus, and the Purchase, Exchange and Redemption of Fund Shares section, beginning on page 30 of the Fund's Statement of Additional Information. Please see the Expense Notes section of the Fund's Prospectus for further information regarding expenses of the Fund.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock                The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 64% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 64.00%
Expense Breakpoint Discounts [Text] rr_ExpenseBreakpointDiscounts You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Russell Funds.
Expense Breakpoint, Minimum Investment Required [Amount] rr_ExpenseBreakpointMinimumInvestmentRequiredAmount 50,000
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent "Other Expenses" and "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" have been restated to reflect expenses expected to be incurred by the Fund during the current fiscal year.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock                This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.

               The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes your investment has a 5% return each year and that operating expenses remain the same.

               Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, under these assumptions your costs would be:
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading Investments, Risks and Performance

Principal Investment Strategies of the Fund
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock                The Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in real estate securities. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by concentrating its investments in equity securities of real estate companies economically tied to a number of countries around the world, including the U.S., in a globally diversified manner. The Fund invests principally in securities of companies, known as real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other REIT-like entities that own interests in real estate or real estate-related loans. The Fund may also invest in equity securities of other types of real estate-related companies. A portion of the Fund's securities are denominated in foreign currencies and are typically held outside the U.S. The Fund may invest a portion of its assets in equity securities of companies that are located in emerging markets. The Fund employs a multi-manager approach whereby portions of the Fund are allocated to different money managers whose approaches are intended to complement one another. Fund assets not allocated to money managers are managed by Russell Investment Management Company ("RIMCo"). Assets not allocated to money managers include the Fund's liquidity reserves and assets which may be managed directly by RIMCo to modify the Fund's overall portfolio characteristics by investing in securities or other instruments that RIMCo believes will achieve the desired risk/return profile for the Fund. The Fund usually, but not always, pursues a strategy to be fully invested by exposing all or a portion of its cash to the performance of certain real estate securities or, in certain circumstances, broad global equity markets by purchasing equity securities and/or derivatives, which typically include index futures contracts and swaps. The Fund may enter into spot or forward currency contracts to facilitate settlement of securities transactions. The Fund may invest in large, medium or small capitalization companies. Please refer to the "Investment Objective and Investment Strategies" section in the Fund's Prospectus for further information.
Strategy Portfolio Concentration [Text] rr_StrategyPortfolioConcentration The Fund has a non-fundamental policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes in real estate securities.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock                An investment in the Fund, like any investment, has risks. The value of the Fund fluctuates and you could lose money. The principal risks of investing in the Fund are those associated with:
  • Active Management. Despite strategies designed to achieve the Fund's investment objective, the value of investments will change with market conditions, and so will the value of any investment in the Fund and you could lose money. The securities selected for the portfolio may not perform as RIMCo or the Fund's money managers expect. Additionally, securities selected may cause a Fund to underperform relative to other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. There is no guarantee that RIMCo will effectively assess a Fund's characteristics or exposures and it is possible that its judgments regarding a Fund's risk/return profile may prove incorrect. In addition, actions taken to modify overall portfolio characteristics, including risk, may be ineffective and/or cause the Fund to underperform.
  • Multi-Manager Approach. While the investment styles employed by the money managers are intended to be complementary, they may not in fact be complementary. A multi-manager approach could result in more exposure to certain types of securities and higher portfolio turnover.
  • Equity Securities. The value of equity securities will rise and fall in response to the activities of the company that issued them, general market conditions and/or economic conditions. Investments in small and medium capitalization companies may involve greater risks because these companies generally have narrower markets, more limited managerial and financial resources and a less diversified product offering than larger, more established companies. Small and some medium capitalization stocks may also be thinly traded, and thus, difficult to buy and sell in the market.
  • Non-U.S. and Emerging Markets Securities. Non-U.S. securities have risks relating to political, economic and regulatory conditions in foreign countries. The risks associated with non-U.S. securities may be amplified for emerging markets securities.
  • Currency Risk. Non-U.S. securities that trade in, and receive revenues in, non-U.S. currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar or, in the case of hedging positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. As a result, investments in non-U.S. dollar-denominated securities and currencies may reduce the returns of the Fund.
  • Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that the other party or parties to an agreement or a participant to a transaction, such as a broker, might default on a contract or fail to perform by failing to pay amounts due or failing to fulfill the obligations of the contract or transaction.
  • Real Estate Securities. Just as real estate values go up and down, the value of the securities of companies involved in the industry also fluctuates. Real estate securities, including REITs, may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying properties owned by the companies and by the quality of tenants' credit.
  • Derivatives. Investments in a derivative instrument could lose more than the principal amount invested. Compared to conventional securities, derivatives can be more sensitive to changes in interest rates or to sudden fluctuations in market prices and thus the Fund's losses may be greater if it invests in derivatives than if it invests only in conventional securities. The use of derivative instruments involves risks different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in equity or fixed income securities, currencies or other investments. Derivatives are subject to a number of risks such as liquidity risk, market risk, credit risk, default risk, counterparty risk (the risk that the other party in an agreement will fail to perform its obligations) and management risk. They also involve the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and the risk that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate exactly with the change in the value of the underlying asset, rate or index.
  • Currency Trading Risk. Currency trading strategies may involve instruments that have volatile prices, are illiquid or create economic leverage. Forward currency contracts are subject to the risk that should forward prices increase, a loss will be incurred to the extent that the price of the currency agreed to be purchased exceeds the price of the currency agreed to be sold.
  • Liquidity Risk. The market for certain investments may become illiquid under adverse or volatile market or economic conditions, making those investments difficult to sell. The market price of certain investments may fall dramatically if there is no liquid trading market.
  • Large Redemptions. The Fund is used as an investment by certain funds of funds and in asset allocation programs and may have a large percentage of its Shares owned by such funds or held in such programs. Large redemption activity could result in the Fund incurring additional costs and being forced to sell portfolio securities at a loss to meet redemptions.
  • Global Financial Markets Risk. Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected and conditions (including recent volatility and instability) and events (including natural disasters) in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or financial market. In addition, governmental and quasi-governmental organizations have taken a number of unprecedented actions designed to support the markets. Such events and conditions may adversely affect the value of the Fund's securities, result in greater market or liquidity risk or cause difficulty valuing the Fund's portfolio instruments or achieving the Fund's objective.
  • Industry Concentration Risk. By concentrating in a single industry, the Fund carries much greater risk of adverse developments in that industry than a fund that invests in a wide variety of industries.
               Please refer to the "Risks" section in the Fund's Prospectus for further information.

               An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney                An investment in the Fund, like any investment, has risks. The value of the Fund fluctuates and you could lose money.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution                An investment in the Fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading Performance
Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns                The following bar chart illustrates the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the performance of the Fund's Class S Shares varies from year to year over a 10-year period.
Performance Additional Market Index [Text] rr_PerformanceAdditionalMarketIndex The Global Real Estate Linked Benchmark provides a means to compare the Fund's average annual returns to a secondary benchmark that takes into account historical changes in the Fund's primary benchmark.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.russell.com
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture                Past performance, both before-tax and after-tax, is no indication of future results.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Class S Calendar Year Total Returns
Bar Chart Narrative [Text Block] rr_BarChartNarrativeTextBlock                The following bar chart illustrates the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the performance of the Fund's Class S Shares varies from year to year over a 10-year period. The returns (both before and after tax) for other Classes of Shares offered by this Prospectus may be lower than the returns shown in the bar chart, depending upon the fees and expenses of those Classes. The highest and lowest returns for a full quarter during the periods shown in the bar chart are set forth next to the bar chart.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock Highest Quarterly Return:
29.86% (3Q/09)

Lowest Quarterly Return:
(37.26)% (4Q/08)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average annual total returns
for the periods ended December 31, 2012
Performance Table Market Index Changed rr_PerformanceTableMarketIndexChanged In October 2010, RIMCo changed the Fund's primary benchmark from the FSTE NAREIT Equity REIT Index to the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index (net). The Global Real Estate Linked Benchmark represents the returns of the FSTE NAREIT Equity REIT Index through September 30, 2010 and the returns of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index (net) thereafter.
Performance Table Uses Highest Federal Rate rr_PerformanceTableUsesHighestFederalRate After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Performance Table Not Relevant to Tax Deferred rr_PerformanceTableNotRelevantToTaxDeferred After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Performance Table One Class of after Tax Shown [Text] rr_PerformanceTableOneClassOfAfterTaxShown After-tax returns are shown only for one class. The after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
Performance Table Explanation after Tax Higher rr_PerformanceTableExplanationAfterTaxHigher If the Fund has realized capital losses, the total return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares may be higher than the total return before taxes and the total return after taxes on distributions.
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock                The table accompanying the bar chart further illustrates the risks of investing in the Fund by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for the periods shown compare with the returns of one or more indexes that measure broad market performance. In October 2010, RIMCo changed the Fund's primary benchmark from the FSTE NAREIT Equity REIT Index to the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index (net). The Global Real Estate Linked Benchmark represents the returns of the FSTE NAREIT Equity REIT Index through September 30, 2010 and the returns of the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index (net) thereafter. The Global Real Estate Linked Benchmark provides a means to compare the Fund's average annual returns to a secondary benchmark that takes into account historical changes in the Fund's primary benchmark. The Russell Developed Index (Net) measures the performance of the investable securities in developed countries globally. After-tax returns are shown only for one class. The after-tax returns for other classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. If the Fund has realized capital losses, the total return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares may be higher than the total return before taxes and the total return after taxes on distributions. For more information, see the Performance Notes section in the Fund's Prospectus.

               Past performance, both before-tax and after-tax, is no indication of future results. More current performance information is available at www.russell.com.
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Class A
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice 5.75%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther 1.00% [1]
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Advisory Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80% [2]
Distribution (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.25% [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.30% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.35% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 704
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 978
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,271
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 2,104
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 20.09%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.00%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.04%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Class C
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Advisory Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80% [2]
Distribution (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets 0.75% [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.55% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 2.10% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 213
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 657
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 1,128
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 2,429
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 26.46%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.41%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 9.85%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Class E
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Advisory Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80% [2]
Distribution (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.55% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.35% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 137
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 427
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 739
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,622
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 27.44%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.17%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.67%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Class S
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Advisory Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80% [2]
Distribution (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.30% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.10% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 112
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 349
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 605
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,339
2003 rr_AnnualReturn2003 37.28%
2004 rr_AnnualReturn2004 35.13%
2005 rr_AnnualReturn2005 12.62%
2006 rr_AnnualReturn2006 35.70%
2007 rr_AnnualReturn2007 (15.76%)
2008 rr_AnnualReturn2008 (37.29%)
2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 29.72%
2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 23.15%
2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (7.46%)
2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 27.76%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Highest Quarterly Return:
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 29.86%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Lowest Quarterly Return:
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2008
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (37.26%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 27.76%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.44%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.96%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Class Y
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price) rr_MaximumSalesChargeImposedOnPurchasesOverOfferingPrice none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) rr_MaximumDeferredSalesChargeOverOther none [1]
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends rr_MaximumSalesChargeOnReinvestedDividendsAndDistributionsOverOther none
Advisory Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.80% [2]
Distribution (12b-1) Fees rr_DistributionAndService12b1FeesOverAssets none [2]
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.10% [2]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.90% [2]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 91
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 286
5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 496
10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 1,103
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 28.01%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.60%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 11.04%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions | Class S
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 25.33%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.27%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 9.04%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Class S
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 18.18%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 2.21%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 8.79%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 27.73%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 0.32%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10   
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Global Real Estate Linked Benchmark (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 27.73%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 3.75%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 10.73%
Russell Global Real Estate Securities Fund | Russell Developed Index (Net) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
 
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 16.16%
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 (0.83%)
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 7.98%
[1] The Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) is charged on the lesser of the purchase price of the Shares being redeemed or the net asset value of those Shares at the time of redemption.
[2] "Other Expenses" and "Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" have been restated to reflect expenses expected to be incurred by the Fund during the current fiscal year.