St. Petersburg... is it worth all these formalities and fees?
My hint: A tiny Lappeenranta airport (LPP, Finland) will get a direct bus connection to the center of Petersburg (by Eurolines) from June. The Russian passengers did notice that airport and Ryanair planes are well-booked in advance, mostly by them.
I can attest that Lappeenranta is a nice town and while didn't go as far as St Peterburg on the bus, as caught the train from Vyborg it was good.