The information that "bitcoin is banned in Russia" is certainly wrong.
It was relevant about three years ago, and only at the level of rumors. At that time, proposals were put forward by individual statesmen to prohibit the turnover of crypto-currencies in Russia. But they did not find support.
For citizens in Russia there are no prohibitions on possession of crypto-currencies. There is no ban on ICO and mining. Also for this there is no criminal or other liability. No one was convicted of involvement in crypto-currencies.
The Constitution establishes that the only legitimate means of payment in the Russian Federation is the RUR. That is, private money as an official means of settlement is illegal.
But we must understand that, of course, there is no prohibition for citizens to own USD, EUR and other foreign currencies. You can safely have dollar accounts, just keep the houses of the USD. Also with crypto-currencies.
Anything that is not prohibited by law is permitted.
It is worth noting that the turnover of the crypto-currency, ICO and mining in Russia has not been regulated. Now actively promoted the draft law, in which the crypto currency is regarded as a "digital financial asset." To protect citizens from fraud, there are restrictions on the amount of investments in ISO, as well as the specific requirements for companies conducting ISO. Mining is considered as a type of business and therefore subject to state registration.
He has the greatest chance of success. Perhaps such a law will come into effect by September 2018. So far, he has not even entered the government for further development. All in the initial stage. Again, this is the draft law.
In general, in Russia everything is the same as in the rest of the world.