So, I essentially agree wtih the comments made by andrzej -- thanks for making the arguments for me. I think it's simply stupid for Russia to require visas for Western tourists; this policy hurts the country more than it helps. Other countires realize that it benefits them more not to have a visa requirement (or a simple visa procedure) for US tourists (e.g., Israel, Czech Republic, Mexico) even though the US has a visa requirement for their own citizens... As I said, yet another stupid remnant of Soviet backwardness in Russian policies.