Russell joined the Hong Kong Civil Service as a cadet in 1865. He was appointed a Government Interpreter in 1867. In 1868 he was appointed as private secretary to his fellow Irishman, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, the Governor of Hong Kong. He ably assisted Governor MacDonnell in dealing with the "blockade of Hong Kong", where the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi ordered four customs stations to be established in waterways surrounding Hong Kong and Kowloon at Fat Tong Chau, Ma Wan, Cheung Chau and Kowloon Walled City in what was then Chinese territory.