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Is not Ger vs Sov. It is Sov vs Axis, and the minor countries can also contribute to the war. Also if you get beaten hard enough in 41 you aren't going to make a comeback, which is the core issue at hand.

Depends how bad you are beaten and where you built your factories.
 
In latest beta version soviet recievens a buff, starting spirit of a five year plan now have 5% consumer goods, and later in the industrial tree focuses that give you reduced consumer goods have less numbers to compensate. I think it's a good change, but still third five year plan give you 5% consumer, and that are not fixing the problem where players just ignoring industrial tree completely
Also i see that idea for this tree is that you pay 5% consumers to recieve good buffs later, but because it's mostly 70 days focus it's not good enough
To give this thread, which are talking about german-soviet rivalry in industry and buffs, i suggest you a Bukharin Russia, which is wery powerful when you save some really good advisors(like +15% factory output or the guy that you can upgrade via focus) and choose Alexey Rykov with -5% consumer goods as a leader, and you can take focus to recieve another -5%; NEP even though it's give you -15% construction speed are really good, because from the start it gives you 15% consumer goods which are better than war economy and near Total Mob, and later you can upgrade it to 10% consumer goods and +10% factories in a state, and by this route you can end up in 0% consumer goods even in war then you have less stability, also it give you option to not spend pp on -5% consumer goods with propaganda campain and concetrate on other stuff(also you don't have to spend 150 pp and another 150 pp later by changing to war economy and total mob)
Have to mention that you can easily avoid Soviel Civil War by just assasinating Stalin, if you go Right Opposition
In my opition Rykov's Russia is strongest route in terms of industry, as far as i remember in 40 i have 150 factories, but now with 5 year plan changes you can have even more
(And i know that in historical MP you won't be able to choose bukharin, i just gave you an information about this route)