i dont live in Russia. but then again, while trying to activate the key throught steam , wouldnt i get an error saying "game cannnot be activated in your region" or similar, instead of "invalid cd-key"? not to mention there was nothing about regional restrictions in product description from where i bought it. plus, i assume, even Russians would have to log into Gamespy for multiplayer with 16 digit cd-key.
anyway i sent an email to
support@softclub.ru