They were actually going to do something almost as good in 2020 (plans got postponed due to the pandemic)

https://evisa.kdmid.ru/

Most western countries can actually visit without getting a visa in your passport beforehand.

The US and the UK also benefit a lot from tourism, and yet they have an extremely hostile border control system + an extremely onerous visa application process (I got a Russian visa a few times... It's definitely simpler)