cryptog1, seems you have atleast glanced beyond the media and found the meeting notes, which is good to see.
article 27 means ruble is the official currency of central banks (FIAT/legal tender), bitcoin wont replace it.
bitcoin does not want to be a replacement of FIAT/legal tender, it wants to work along side legal tender. just like russia allows euro's to be exchanged, airmiles, travelers cheques, even facebook credits..
the statement
In accordance with Art. 27 of the Federal Law "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation", "the official currency (currency) of the Russian Federation is the ruble. Introduction on the territory of Russia and other monetary units issue money substitutes is prohibited. " Certain distribution received anonymous payment systems and kriptovalyuty, including the most famous of them - Bitcoin are money substitutes and can not be used by individuals and legal entities.
the statement in red is the official and legal stance of russia.. EG ruble wont be substituted by bitcoin.
the statement in green is someone elses hypothesis to the meaning of the law. but infact is not law itself. it is just a statement.
the meeting was not a law making activity, it was a discussion between bankers, Russian FSB and the Russian Interior Ministry to discuss the status of bitcoin. no law has changed regarding bitcoin as of yet. but these meetings are discussion meetings which may lead to law changes in the future.
again bitcoin is not replacing the ruble, much like air miles, facebook credits, zynga coins are not replacing the ruble. as such bitcoin is not illegal.
all this meeting proves is that bitcoin seems negatively received by the russian authorities and law changes may happen. but this meeting has not changed a thing! infact the chapter 6 article 27 has not changed since 2002..
enjoy your research
I think you are totally right.
This is a proof of the manipulative power of media, even RT.
Here (
http://rt.com/business/bitcoin-russia-use-ban-942/) (today's article), RT (this is in fact a Reuters news) states that Russia has banned Bitcoin.
But there is no reference to any official statement from the Central Bank of Russia
The last official statement is:
http://cbr.ru/press/PR.aspx?file=27012014_1825052.htmWhen you get the translation, it just says that the Bank of Russia is warning the citizens of Russia about the risk involved in cryptos.
Nothing new.
Indeed, as long as Bitcoin (or any crypto) is not replacing the Rubble, there should not be any problem and such a replacement won't happen within the next years.
My guess is that Russia will enact new laws about cryptos but i don t see Russian ban cryptos, especially when Russia is fed up with a growing US debt they must support by buying US bonds.
They want gold, bitcoin, reliable cryptos....much better than a petrodollar fueled by fake terrorism.