The Village of Russell is part of the Township of Russell which in turn is located in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell which covers part of Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario is a subregion of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies in a wedge-shaped area between the Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River...

, Canada. It is located immediately east of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, the city limits of which are just over 2 km west from Russell but its downtown core is about 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) northwest of Russell.

The 2006 Census revealed that the community had a population of 3,540 , making it the second largest community in the township of Russell (Russell's neighbour to the east, Embrun

Embrun, Ontario

Embrun (ˈɛmbrən in English; ), UN/LOCODE: CA EBU, is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario in the Eastern Ontario region. Embrun is also part of the National Capital Region. Embrun is part of the larger Russell Township in Prescott and Russell United Counties...

, is the largest community in Russell Township). The vast majority of its residents work in the city of Ottawa, making Russell a true bedroom community for commuters to Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

. Besides agriculture, there are no industries in and immediately around the village.

The town has a significant number of schools - English Catholic Elementary and Secondary, English Public Elementary and Secondary (Russell High School

Russell High School (Ontario)

Russell High School is a secondary school in Russell located under the jurisdiction of Upper Canada District School Board. In addition to Russell, students from Embrun, Casselman and Limoges attend Russell High School....

) and French Elementary school (École Saint-Joseph) http://saint-josephrussell.csdceo.ca/fr/.

Russell also has a summer swimming pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

, a hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 arena, a library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, an All-weather running track

All-weather running track

An all weather running track is the common term to describe a rubberized artificial running surface for the sport of Track and field athletics. Throughout the history of the sport, there has always been a search for a consistent surface that gave competitors an equal advantage, to test their...

 and a curling

Curling

Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...

 rink located right in the center of the village. The village also has its firehall on the south-end of the village and is policed by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The "Russell Watch Program" is a community watch where volunteers patrol the village as a second set of eyes and ears for the OPP. Patrols are mostly made during the evening and into the late night. Commercial, recreational, and residential areas are all monitored frequently after dusk.

The village has practicing lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

s, doctor

Physician

A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

s, dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

s and other professionals. It also has grocery store, pharmacy, garage, restaurants and many little shops to browse.

The little Castor River

Castor River (Ontario)

The Castor River is a river in eastern Ontario, in Canada. It flows into the South Nation River near Casselman. It has a number of branches, including the North, Middle, South and East Castor Rivers which join in Embrun...

 (translated from French means "Beaver") meanders through the settlement in summer and offers a flat trail for snowmobile

Snowmobile

A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...

s during the winter.

The village has now passed a local bylaw requiring all commercial signage to be bilingual. This bylaw is being challenged by many and by one man who seeks court confirmation of the unconstitutionality of the bylaw.

Russell is a predominantly English-speaking community, although with a sizeable French-speaking minority. 87% of the community speaks English at home, while 11% speak French at home. .

The travel time to the nearest built-up areas of Ottawa is typically 20–25 minutes. In the rush hour it can take up to one hour to reach downtown Ottawa, and much more to reach Ottawa boroughs west of the core zone.

In terms of ethnic origin, the people of Russell are mainly of Anglo-Celtic

Anglo-Celtic

Anglo-Celtic is a term used to describe people of British and Irish descent. The term today is mainly used outside of Britain and Ireland, particularly in Australia but also in Canada, New Zealand and the United States, where a significant diaspora is located....

descent, although there is significant populations of Dutch, French, and German descent.