Russian citizens must register WiFi devices (including laptops) and receive special permission to use them

Not exactly. Officials from one of the government agencies issued an opinion that WiFi devices require registration by the end users. Other people including other officials pointed out that this would contradict existing law that frees certified end-user devices from the need of being registrated (though commercial WiFi equipment including e.g. Cisco is not).

So it is an open issue, rather than a definitive "must register". This is not the first case when a cretin from a government agency blurted out something as stupid as this; and certainly not the last. In the end the underlying cause is far less sinister than one might think - they simply want to milk public for the licensing fees.

Here is a distilled version without unnecessary words:

"A Russian government agency has proposed mandatory registration of all WiFi devices.

According to Fontanka.ru, the government agency responsible for regulating mass media, communications, and cultural protection has stated that users will have to register every WiFi-enabled device with the government and receive special permission in order to use the hardware. The agency says that registration could take as long as ten days for standard devices like PDAs and laptops and that it intends to confiscate devices that are used without registration. Users who wish to operate a wireless access point or WiFi-enabled home router are expected to go through an even more onerous process that will involve submitting documentation and obtaining a license. In certain regions, like Moscow and St. Petersburg, users will also have to receive special approval from the Federal Security Service.

The policy, which was explained to Fontanka.ru by the Russian agency's deputy director Vladimir Karpov, could reverse existing policies like a 2004 government panel decision to provide blanket permission for indoor wireless access point operation and a 2007 policy that allowed use of mobile WiFi devices without registration. According to The Other Russia, the Russian government agency that is responsible for issuing the new policy was created when the Russian media and telecommunications regulatory bodies were merged last year."