There is one viable point made here, which is that russia lacks troops to defend the south. What is not mentioned is the factory you already have (Volgograd Stalingrad). Later in the game, Russia often lacks the troops needed just to block. They could walk all the way from moscow or be waiting down south all game, but if you failed to do that, building some more units in the south in the mid game might be a good idea to get some blockers in place.
For all the talk about how powerful Germany is and how imbalanced the game is, its odd that no one suggests making Germany or the Axis weaker, rather than the allies stronger. Or both.
Removing an air pair from japan or germany makes a big difference.
And to repeat, why does germany get 70-80$? That’s what makes it too easy. The bonuses are too easy to get and are easily nerfed (leningrad volgograd moscow shouldn’t be worth 5, you could make them 2-4 and lowering the bonuses doesn’t alter Germany’s setup or first turns. Moreover, interfering with Germany and Japan money and production is way too difficult in comparison to how easily they can smash the UK or USSR economy (except in anniversary). By midgame, Germany has 2 greater and 5 lesser factories, we’ve tried partisan type rules to limit their vast choices.
