He was the state's second youngest-ever chief executive, and was the first Democrat since the American Civil War to serve more than one term in that office.

He was politically a conservative Democrat, supporting the presidential campaigns of Grover Cleveland and the gold standard for the national currency.

[2][3] On his father's side, he was descended from Thomas Hastings,[4] and William Russell, both 17th-century settlers of Massachusetts, while his mother was of Huguenot descent.

He was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, and was an active participant in varsity sports, boxing, playing football, and on the school's rifle shooting squad, where he was considered an excellent marksman.

[10] He entered politics in 1881, winning election to the Cambridge common council by a single vote, on a write-in "sticker campaign" started by friends without his knowledge.

In his first year in office, Russell balanced the budget, funded the city's debt, and paid off its outstanding bills.

During his tenure, he oversaw improvements in wide array of city services, include streets, sewers, fire, police, and health.

[14] Although Russell was personally opposed to the prohibition of alcohol, the city voted in 1886 to become dry, and he won favorable notice for enforcing the ban despite his opposition to it.

[7] He twice ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachusetts in 1888 and 1889, defeated by Oliver Ames and John Quincy Adams Brackett.

[13] The 1890 victory was part of a national backlash against Republican tariff legislation, overlaid by opposition within the state to Brackett's harsh enforcement of liquor laws.

[13] His election as governor for three successive years was a result of his personal popularity: the majority of the legislature and state officials during his tenure were Republicans.

[30] After the 1896 convention, Russell traveled to the Gaspé peninsula of eastern Quebec to escape the summer heat and political pressures.

He died quite unexpectedly on the night of his arrival, July 16, 1896, in his sleep, at a camp on the Little Pabos River just north of Sainte-Adelaide-de-Pabos.