TJ Hooker :
There's nothing in those articles about Russia banning cryptocurrencies. Their central bank just isn't going to allow them to be traded on traditional exchanges. China also isn't banning cryptocurrencies, just banning companies from using ICOs to raise startup capitol.
Heh, if Russia would really crack down on cryptocurrencies, it would seriously impact their cybercrime industry. If China did it, their miners & ASIC makers would lose $billions of revenue.
While it's understandable that countries generally don't want their citizens using these currencies for domestic purposes, I think those two aren't foolish enough to ban them outright.