Sorry this isn't recent, but DH and I went there in 2003 - St. Petersburg only, because we were fascinated by Russian history and a lot of the things that interested us were there. Since every package tour seemed to combine both, we went on our own.
Getting visa: no problem. I filled out the forms myself but had to mock up a travel agent itinerary (they wanted one, we didn't have a TA). We stayed at the Radisson; they gave us the required invitation after we made our reservation.
Hotel: just wonderful. They immediately tried to "upsell" us to a junior suite and have the WSJ delivered every day for some crazy amount. We turned both down, but you gotta love capitalism.
Tours: we did splurge and get private guides for a few things. We booked a tour of the Youssopovksy Palace (where they murdered Rasputin) through the hotel. I'd read that sometimes the ladies working in the Palace were very protective of the place and wouldn't let just anybody in. We booked another tour guide for Tsarskoe Selo (now Pushkin) and the Hermitage. She had an associate take us to Pushkin; he led us on an odyssey through ornate subway stations followed by vans operated by enterprising Georgians where you got in, passed your rubles up to the driver through the hands of your fellow passengers, and your change was returned the same way. Definitely not something DH and I would have done on our own!
Pretty easy to get around in English but I had studied a little Russian beforehand. So many words are borrowed from French, English and German that if you just learn to decipher the alphabet it's a great help.
I highly recommend flyertalk.com for current and detailed recommendations; just make sure you do a search on common topics before you start a new thread on "how do I get a Russian visa?". (Sorta like starting one here on "When should I file for SS?")