Griff, Tom, let me take a minute and try to add a little light to a gray area.
First let me say that with, in my opinion, 75% of the ladies who apply for police certificates, they really do not run into any great problems. Let's talk about those in the 75% group first. Ladies who have lived in the same city and region most there lives can usually go to there local OVIR office (police station) and ask for a police certificate and get them completed by the local authorities.
Now, I have witnessed some OVIR offices telling some ladies it will take one month. Many of the ladies did not expect this and the OVIR official let's them know that it could be expedited for a fee. I have seen this fee (pay-off) run from $40 to $100 and the report being ready within five days to a week. I have also seen ladies who did not pay the expedited fee (pay-off) and the report take a full month and the cost is only like $3 or $4 (As I re-call. It may be more, or less, but it's not much). Sometimes you will run across an OVIR office where everything is on the up and up and a lady can get her report in less than a week for this standard fee of only a couple of dollars.
In most of the major cities you have individuals (or companies) who do this for a living, that is, putting together the police certificate package. This is what I personally did and what I really recommend most guys to do, but many Russian ladies, because most are frugal with money, say they can do it themselves, and they can, but they do not have such a good understanding as to what is really going on. I would tell all you guys to have one of these individuals who do this for a living to do your police report as well as the birth certificate, the translation and notary. I think I paid something like $70 or $80 for all this to be done for my wife. It's really the way to go in my opinion. These are the neatest little packages. The papers are tied together with wax string and all very official looking. And done by hand. When my Natalia had gotten her's all done she sent the packages to me in the states and I included them in my K-1 package to the INS, which I know saved me about three weeks in time as I was given an interview date over the phone by the people at the Warsaw Embassy, but that was in the good ole days, before 9-11 and the more intense security checks.
Now for those who do it themselves they just go to there local OVIR and indicate they need a police certificate done on themselves for a fiancé visa. This certificate is pretty much the same form through out Russia and Ukraine, although there could be some minor variances. Other countries of the FSU certificates will vary a little more. I understand that one can also get this form at the Russian or Ukraine Embassies.
I really don't think you need to have any other paperwork associated with the K-1 or packet 3. Packet 3 just tells you this is one of the items you need to get. Now with the way things are changing with the whole K-1 visa process maybe things have changed but these were pretty much the way things were not too long ago.
Griff, it is my understanding that in your case, your lady who is now living in Uzbekistan and she used to live in Ekaterinburg, she does NOT have to go there in person and that she could have a relative get this on her behalf, or she could even telephone and request for such information to be sent to her. I do not think it is a legal requirement that she must be present and request this herself.
I read where Apk indicates his wife saying that she needs to do this herself, well if it is in the city you live in that is probably correct but I know of many situations where ladies who used to live in other cities several years earlier did not have to go to these cities but were able to request these reports and they did receive them. I don't want to say that Apk wife is wrong, I just know without any doubt that many times ladies have been able to request and receive these certificates without having to go to Siberia, or Moscow or wherever themselves. But I suspect if it is in the city that you are living in at the time, she is correct.
Now to address if you are in this 25% group where you are experiencing some problems. My advice would be to find someone, or an agency, that offers this service and have them to do this for you, or if your fiancée wants to do it herself, or in your case Griff, your father-in-law, then you need to be prepared to offer a little "expedite" fee in order to clear any hurdles.
Griff, I think it is a sure bet if your father-in-law was to offer a little extra compensation there will be nyet a problem.
It is my opinion that the local OVIR offices see dollar signs whenever a lady request's one. These officials have learned that both the lady and the man are anxious to get this done and if these officials tell the lady it will take a month, in most cases it is understood and/or indicated that the process could be speed up a little $$.
