I'm playing the Russians (actually, the people of Novograd) in early now - using plain MTW/VI. Start the game with the -ian switch, choose any faction, not a GA game, and then start pressing the number keys once you get to the map. Each time you press a number you will switch to a corresponding faction. I think you need to hold the shift key down to get to Novograd. (I mean, it's -shift--8- or something.) Don't try a GA game or you are inviting a crash.
It's been a really fun campaign. You start with very little, but you can build some fun units. I'm almost to High - I'm planning a big confrontation with the Horde soon.
HTH,
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