You may be correct that the Kremlin doesn't bother with legal ballet and literary gymnastics in the same manner that the White House does, but they are similarly blatant and tight-lipped in their activities.

However the usage of such 'black boxes' that vacuum up packets is just as prevalent in the US as it is in Russia.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/justinesharrock/what-is-that-box-whe...