The community was designated as a town prior to 1 January 2015, when it and the nearby Village of Binscarth amalgamated with the Rural Municipality of Russell.

With one of the highest freight rates in western Canada, the Russell area is well-positioned to experience an explosion in value-added processing.

Bunge Canada, an advanced canola-processing plant, is located at Harrowby, 15 km (9 mi) west of Russell.

Nearby potash mining in Saskatchewan provides jobs for numerous Russell residents, as well as purchasing supplies and services locally.

[4][7] Recreational facilities include a serviced campground, tennis courts, ball fields, curling and hockey arenas, community halls, a swimming pool, snowboarding and downhill skiing, and a nine-hole golf course.

In Manitoba, the lake recorded an annual walleye catch per square kilometre that is five times greater than the provincial average.