Visitors to Russia generally need a visa. Once a deposit has been paid on a trip and rooms are booked, we'll receive visa support materials from the hotel(s) where rooms are booked. We'll forward these to travelers, as well as contact information for a service that helps with visa paperwork, checks them for errors, and expedites the process, for a surprisingly small fee.
It is possible to spend 72 hours in Russia without a visa by taking a cruise/ferry from Helsinki via the Moby/St. Peter Line. Doing so involves follow a series of unusual restrictions. Passengers are required to sign up for a group tour of St. Petersburg upon their arrival, and are only allowed to stay at one of a short list of generally overpriced hotels in the city center. The cruise between Helsinki and St. Petersburg is overnight in either direction, so a 3-day trip takes another two days, unlike the high-speed train that tourists usually take to get between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The sea is also often rough during fall and winter, which can cause problems even for those not normally susceptible to seasickness.