During the Galactic Civil War era, Russell, a male Human, held a leadership position within the criminal organizations. After the Battle of Yavin around 0 BBY, Russell established his base of operations at the Trade Outpost situated on the planet of Dathomir, functioning as an illegal facilitator for hopeful smugglers. Russell placed trust in smugglers who had gained considerable experience in the criminal world, tasking them with the delivery of prohibited goods to clients.
Sony Online Entertainment developed the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game Star Wars Galaxies, which LucasArts published. Russell appeared as a non-player character in this video game from 2003, before it shut down on December 15, 2011. He was incorporated into the game when the "Chapter 3" update went live on September 27, 2006, which also introduced the smuggling missions.