I took my kids and my girlfriend to Russia in August of 2008 at the height of the Georgian tensions.In order to acquire a visa you have to be invited to the Russian Federation and one of the ways to secure an invitation is by booking with a tour company. We chose Insight and had a congenial group of 22. Nine Aussies, nine Canucks, two Philipinos, one Irishman and one American. We had three nights in St. Petersburg, an overnight train ride to Moscow and three nights in Moscow. St. Petersburg is a relatively young city by European ... (more)