Getting a Visa

I am very much looking forward to my trip to meet potential SEEDs
in St. Petersburg and Tel Aviv (Herzliya) in January. I wrote a few weeks
ago about filling in the Visa Application to visit
Russia. I just got off the phone with a very patient lady in Sun’s St. Petersburg
office. This is what I understand so far:

It turns out that there are two distinct application processes and fees
for me to travel to Russia on business. The first has to be done in Russia
itself. The second is done with the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco.

In Russia, I need to provide the following:

• Russian Visa Application form (to get a telex number assigned for
  the official invitation)

• Signature on the File form (to charge my credit card)
• RUB 5616 (about USD $195-)

In the USA, I am using
Visa Network to communicate with the Russian
Consulate General in San Francisco. For them, I need to provide:

• Consulate General of the Russian Federation in San Francisco /
  Visa Application form

• Visa Network Order Form
• My Original Passport
• USD $150-

Once the Russian telex is sent to the Consulate General, Visa Network
will take my passport and the application and the fee and get my
actual visa. This is a great deal more complex and expensive than I
was expecting. I am considering getting a new credit card number just
for this trip in case it gets shopped around.