Russell County (standard abbreviation: RS) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 6,970. The largest city and county seat is Russell.Russell, the county seat, was the home of former U.S. Senate Majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Robert Dole for many years. It was also the boyhood home of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who was born in Wichita.