Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a darn near regular on here, asking all sorts of questions. Ironic, since I was born in Russia. Alas, that's very well the problem.

Anyways, I just found out this morning that one of my best bros in Kazakhstan is getting married. The wedding date is set for June, and in summer, airfares to Kazakhstan are out of control, with international students coming home & vacationers and blah blah blah. I decided to shop around & found out that an IAH-DME via Singapore Airlines combined with a DME-ALA via Transaero will be significantly cheaper than flying through Frankfurt or Amsterdam.

I realize that while it may technically be possible to transit DME without a transit visa, I don't want to take the risk. However, say I do get a double-entry transit visa: what am I able to do with that? I will have a 72-hour window in Russian territory, correct? I was thinking, would it then be possible for me to fly to St. Petersburg (on S7 Airlines for $159 round-trip) for a day or two to see my family there, as well as adjust to the new time zone so I can party hearty for the wedding week? Or will I have to stay in Moscow?

Last question: if they reject my request for a transit visa, on what grounds would they reject it? And what the heck do I do after that? This is based on the fact that I get my Kazakhstan visa and I buy all the requisite tickets and show all of this to whoever needs to see it to get a Russian transit visa. What do I do with those tickets if the transit visa is rejected?

Of course, I could just try and get a Russian passport & fly to both countries on that, but it seems to me that getting the visas will be easier than that!

Mega thanks in advance. I love you guys, seriously!