There are a number of agencies who will get you your russian visa and your invitation document. If you book a hotel, they will fax the document to you or the agency for your visa application but what about if you dont know where you will be staying before you enter the country? How do you get the invitation document then?
BF,
Try going online to somewhere like www.sheraton.com and hold yourself a confirmed reservation, on your plastic, but a reservation that you can cancel later.
Print out your confirmed reservation, get an email copy of it, apply for the visa based on your reservation at the Sheraton, or wherever, get your visa and then go back online and cancel your reservation.
BF
For $30 you can buy an invitation online and have it emailed to you the same day. Saves bothering with hotels.
"Waytorussia" provides this service and there are many others.
I used them last time and it worked perfectly.