In the Soviet days, Russians asked their American friends to bring blue jeans, rock records and other Western goods into the country. Today Russians can buy almost anything they want here — but they are still begging for one item: Apple’s slick iPhone. The new iPhone went on sale in 21 countries July 11 and will soon be released in 70 nations. Officially, Russia and China are still on hold — neither last year’s original iPhone nor the updated model have been launched in those countries because Apple is still negotiating with mobile service providers.
