Russia in 2018 is looking to regulate Bitcoin as opposed to trying to outlaw it altogether. This about face would allow Russia to regulate Bitcoin while trying to reduce money laundering. This would lead to possible regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency in Russia, as opposed to a proposed jail terms for Bitcoin users as recently as last year.
The Bank of Russia is now working with the government to work out a joint stance on cryptocurrency. The Bank of Russia is also looking at the possibility of a national digital currency based on a hybrid of public and private distributed ledger system.