KREMLIN STOOGE: US embassy in Russia to scale back visa services amid tensions.

“Capacity for interviews in the future will be greatly reduced because we have had to greatly reduce our staffing levels to comply with the Russian government’s requirement,” the embassy told applicants in a note on its web site.

Visa operations at the U.S. consulates, located in St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok, will “remain suspended indefinitely,” according to Reuters.

“We will operate at reduced capacity for as long as our staffing levels are reduced,” the U.S. embassy said.

In addition to the slowdown, I wouldn’t be surprised if US officials became more (ahem) selective about whose applications moved to the top of the ever-growing stack.