My adult russians were kept together nearly year round. In fact the only times I saw successful mating was during the autumn. Of course I didn't watch them all the time.

I hibernated mine from around December to February. They generally laid eggs around April-May. I don't know if the eggs were fertilized from autumn or spring matings.

I did sometimes seperate the torts to give the females a rest. Males can sometimes inflict injuries, and they seem to harass females almost constantly.