I don't discuss about geopolitical issues or war here. Let's consider about what is going on and will happen with (against) Russia.
They under the dictatorship of Putin, really invaded Ukraine and ignored all international standards. They are punished by massive sanctions on their bank system and many areas. Because we do know Bitcoin is peer-to-peer, borderless so will Russia do something like North of Korea, trying to use Bitcoin as one of their last resorts?
With Bitcoin, they can avoid traditional sanctions against them. To do this, will they legalize Bitcoin in Russia soon?
Let me say, I hate war!
It was said in several topics here in forum that yes, Russia could utilize the usage of bitcoin to avoid the sanctions imposed to them by many countries in the world. They can opt to use it instead of attempting accessing their bank accounts, which by the way are frozen in order to save the wealth still available to them, so it would be out of reach of the sanctions. And to freely use it for transactions such as using it as payment method when they don't have any cash left to purchase the things they want and need.
Bitcoin became really useful for Russian citizens because it brought them convenience amidst the chaos. They could bypass the sanctions since bitcoin is a decentralized entity, hence, out of reach of the imposed sanctions to them which just covers freezing of their centralized accounts. Although it's still too early to tell if they would legalize it, since they can still benefit from it without really arranging legal matters about it.