Russian Carriers Hot to Get iPhone 5 Before Winter

If Apple really is planning a retail store for Moscow’s historic Hotel Moskva, this fall could be the perfect time to open it. Word on the street has the company’s next generation iPhone headed to Russia right about that time.

Russian newspaper RBC Daily claims the iPhone 5 could go on sale in Russia in November, “almost immediately” after the smartphone launches in the U.S. (ahem …). The publication claims Russian carriers are particularly keen on adding the device to their lineups as quickly after its official launch as possible to avoid losing revenue to the country’s gray market.