Use an online agency for the invitation letter. It's cheap and quick. They email you the letter and you print it out.
There's no point in your friend in Russia trying to get you invitation letters as they will have to pay a fee for the processing which is something similar to what an agency charges, plus it's a bit of a headache as your friend has found out.
As people have said: Real Russia and Stantours both have good reputations. I have used both without any problems. Though last time I tried contacting Real Russia they were very poor in replying (several times) which has reduced my opinion of them a bit.
I think I used waytorussia.net for the last Russian invitation letter I had, and it was the most simple and straightforward process I've come across.
Russian Tourist Visa Support Application | waytorussia.net page Seems to be the right page but it's changed loads from when I used them.
|