I got my visa support from www.getrussian.com for under 30 bucks, makes it a lot cheaper than booking a hotel. Great service.

Got my passports back from the Russian Consulate on Friday.

The process, although time consuming and expensive, can be done without the aid of a visa support agency if you are doing a tour and follow the instructions carefully. The tour company should provide you with a visa support letter covering the dates of your travel. Gate 1 should have automatically included those extra days.

In addition, I included a copy of the Gate 1 invoice and the tour description from the internet.