Then there is this from 20 hours ago;
Russia Has Begun Selling Its Gold, According To SocGen
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-18/russia-has-begun-selling-its-gold-according-socgen
Which is true?
Yours makes more sense.
The Russian press denied this, this morning.
It might be possible that they are selling their gold and then using those funds to buy gold. Maybe I am overthinking. It would make sense though.