@Antonescu:
OK, my original thought was that turtling only with infantry is the best solution. The reason being that infantry is the best defensive bang for the buck, so to speak. For 30 IPCs you can get 10 infantry, 20 defensive points. For the same IPCs you can get 3 fighters, that’s 12 defensive points. Wouldn’t you want the most defensive points? Also, wouldn’t you also want more fodder for the German tanks?
Nothing you’re saying is wrong, but there is a huge flaw in your logic - it starts with a 3 and ends with a 0.
Yes, Russia can turtle, and for those first couple turns it can indeed pump out an impressive stack of infantry. But as Germany starts to gobble up territory that Russia has left more or less open, Russia’s 30 ipc build starts to shrink rapidly, while Germany is building way way way over 30. That disparity eventually leaves Russia producing simply too little to hold against Germany once Russia’s periphery isn’t giving them income.
Russia must make counterattacks, at least occassionally, to keep its economy up (or attack and make tactical retreats to make sure Germany loses spendy units when they try to capture territory) - at least long enough for the other Allies to position yourself. If Russia makes it too easy for Germany to capture its territory Russia will be starved too quickly before the Allies can truly threaten the atlantic wall.