It looks to me like the Russian presence in crypto is a direct response to sanctions that have made inefficient their access to international banking infrastructure. It would probably be a good thing if Russia can create a viable alternative system.
Who is it that is manipulating the prices of gold and other commodities?
JPMorgan set to pay $1 billion fine for metals market manipulation
Who owns the big mining companies (Rio Tinto for example)?
Who has control over how much gold is actually available for trade on the market?
I think Putin is a price taker rather than a price maker in both of these situations.