Russell was a Human male who served as a leader in the criminal underworld during the time of the Galactic Civil War. Sometime following the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, Russell operated out of the Trade Outpost on the planet Dathomir as an illicit broker, serving as a point of contact for aspiring smugglers. Smugglers who had sufficiently advanced in the criminal underworld were entrusted by Russell with delivering contraband items to customers.
Russell was a non-player character in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArts, prior to its closure on December 15, 2011. Russell was added to the game along with the smuggling missions introduced with the "Chapter 3" update, released on September 27, 2006.