Before Covid and the so-called 'Special Military Operation' one used a travel agent to make a basically fake invitation certificate saying they were inviting you and providing accomodation. There was no requirement to book a bona fide tour or book any accommodation. I believe the situation is still the same.
There were many different agents, one of the most popular was RealRussia, but this seems to have gone under (not surprising), and no doubt many of the smaller ones have too.
A very long established website is https://waytorussia.net/ which is very up to date and offers links to trusted visa agents. I think I used them many years ago.
No idea what the realities are these days for a UK citizen as I have not been to Russia since the above and no longer travel with a UK passport. Bear in mind that it was always more involved for UK citizens to get a Russian visa than, say, Schengen area citizens - things like needing an original invitation certificate (not a print-off) and providing bank statements to show means of supporting yourself whilst in Russia. Way back when I travelled on a UK passport, UK citizens did not need to have health insurance as there was a reciprocal arangement for Russians in the UK. THat may well have changed.
Good luck.
EO
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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.
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