Many countries operate by different rules than us - something
you may be shocked to learn if you do any international travel.
In the last year while making plans to travel to Russia I ran across a
warning from the US state dept. recommending NOT to travel with
a GPS receiver. The Russian government is still very paranoid about
their "secrets". Anyone carrying a GPS could be considered a spy
trying to get an accurate location of whatever nearby sensitive
government facilities may exist - seen or unseen. If you want another
example of their level of paranoia, take a look at their visa application.
It practicaly asks for your entire family, education, and work history,
and asks specifically what kind of military/weapons/nuclear engineering
skills you may have.
I'm sure this too will fall into history as more varieties of consumer
electronics devices are appearing with built-in GPS (cameras, cell phones).
All that being said, I believe satellite reception over most of Russia
should be excellent. ;-)
-Steve