Rick, I respectfully disagree with you. I applied for and received a three year Russian visa and it was an extremely easy process. There are several websites/companies that you can use that take care of all the paperwork. The one I used was as simple as filling out some forms online, submitting them and your payment, then waiting. My visa came back approved in about a month.

A friend of mine also applied for and received the three year visa through the same company. I would share the name here for you but I'm not sure if that's allowed...

I enjoyed my first trip to Moscow last summer and I plan to visit many other places in Russia before my current visa expires. While Ukraine is easier to visit as an American, I certainly would not rule out Russia; the visa process is actually pretty simple.