Well, this is funny. Look, I gave you another link within the same site (
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1006.html) and it said "
Visitors may bring in regular cellular telephones to Russia without restriction", nothing more nothing less. It's dated November 23, 2005, so I guess this is much more correct at present. The things your older link tells us look very similar to the law cancelled in February, 2000, so now I'm sure it's the same thing. By the way, I usually cross the border with two phones and have no problems anywhere, including the Russian border (such the law usually applies both on residents and foreigners). I guess some problems would occur if you carry more than 2 phones with you, though.
My piece of advice for you: buy a GSM phone here, don't mess with eBay. No documents etc. are needed to buy a cellular phone here itself. I guess a phone bought in Russia would be cheaper, and, yes, it would include a charger with the native Russian plug (in fact it's continental European type: thin and round 2 pins) and Russian AC voltage support (220-240 volts only, or may be 110-240 volts so you'd be able to use it in the States via a plug adaptor). Look here -
http://www.svyaznoy.ru/shop/cellphon...l?standart=gsm , there you may find a price for an almost every cellular phone that you might buy in one of the dozens of Связной dealer shops (Russian language). As you can see, you may buy a lowend simple phone for 1500-1600 rubles (less than $60) or even for 1400 rubles, and such the phone would be unlocked and fully functional here (both 900/1800 MHz). You'd have to pay more if you need a triband (900/1800/1900) to be able to use it in the States. So, keep in mind cellular phones in Russia are not expensive, eventually.