Even in a democratic system like the US, members of congress front-run the public on a regular basis. So, there is a small probability that influential Russians affected by the sanctions did not see it coming
Oligarchs and other large players in Russia with insider information probably planned for an outcome like this over not just years but decades. They are probably not panic buying Bitcoin to protect their billions but that money is already safely tucked away in shell companies and offshore assets
The blockchain market is too small/open/monitored to be an effective means of sidestepping sanctions at the scale required by oligarchs and governments
