@protevangelium:
Can you give an alternate/optional initial setup for Russia, especially for infantry? I am not really interested in rehashing the reasons for and against, but I will say that when playing it was too easy for the Central Powers to press into Russia while not being faced with a similar threat from Russia. Six infantry in the frontier territories is far too weak for Russia to have any chance of posing a challenge.
A strong A-H drive into Ukraine puts the CPs on the Russian doorstep far too quickly and thrashes the weak Russian economy too violently. So that is my question… what setup (for Russia) can I use to balance against this, in keeping with some of the game�s original design? This is regardless of playing with the RR rule in effect (or not). It would also keep the preexisting Central Powers setup on the Eastern Front. Thanks!
Bolstering Russia, even slightly, would likely throw the game out of balance.
Maybe you could take away a starting French unit for each Russian unit you add to balance it.