Hi,

shame didn't spot your question earlier.

As far as St. Petersburg-Talinn by train: yes. Safe? Not exactly BART until past Narva Westbound.

As far as Russian consulate in San Francisco... usually the mfa (= State Department) of that country is the only authority to give reliable answer.

The only three visas I ever got in San Francisco were those at the Japanese consulate (more than just business visits.)

Russians positively discriminate on the basis of how fast you need the visa: the faster - the heaftier the fee.

Reading their consular visa info, yeah... get ready for paperwork colllection that beats the volume of a US passport application.

Can an individual just show up? If ready with the volumes of paperwork to acompany visa app - yes.

Consider some Finland-Russia-Estonia transit visa. 72 hours in Russia, and less stringent requirements for visa.

Have a good trip.

Tom