And then weirdness.
Joining the Allies as CSA, first I beat national socialist France and liberate it as Bourbon France (reactionary). So they're my puppet.
I declare war on the USSR (COMINTERN leader, no other members since the USSR annexed it's ally Finland). All good. I liberate the Baltic states and then we're campaigning towards Moscow when - wham! The USSR dismembers and we get the Grand Duchy of Moscovy, the Don-Kuban Union, Kingdom of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and a suddenly national socialist Hungary as members of the Allies.
Now in the invasion of the USSR I had no French troops (France had only produced a few divisions) but Germany kept the bulk of it's forces on the Franco-German border because I guess that's what Germany does and it the only other major Allied troops in the USSR were British & Commonwealth.
The Grand Duchy and the Don-Kuban Union are puppets of France. Which means they are puppets of my puppet. Huh? And they have my tech levels.