> Russia has planned to become as independent as possible, to become the first major nation state to issue a digital currency,

I would say one of the first since China [0] already has issued their digital yuan CBDC. [0] But it seems that Russia has prepared for this years ahead and where ready to be hit with the sanctions.

> I think that the sanctions against Russia will perhaps have the inverse effect people predicted

Perhaps so.

[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/china-digital-yuan-pboc-to-e...