Oh that began when they scripted From Russia with Love. The book has the Russians as the bad guys the movie shifts the bad guys over to the fictional Spectre.
Actually the Russians were the bad guys up through the beginning of “Man with The Golden Gun”. In “You Only Live Twice” Bond was sent to Japan for mission against the Russians. SMERSH agents and Eastern Bloc defectors were made up most of SPECTRES army in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and the Russians were helping in two other Bond Novels where I don’t want to give it away.
In fact , the original teleplay for “Thunderball” involved Russians stealing nukes, but then it was changed to the Mafia and when “Fleming’s book” came out it was Spectre.