Russia and China have the same fundamental problem. Pre-industrialisation, both have all their power and wealth concentrated in the landowners. You need to rush industry so that wealth is broken up between capitalists/petit bourgeoisie/trade unions. Playing Russia I immediately shift my capital to Perm so it's invasion-proof without 1m casualties. Then I start building up construction, wood, and iron in Perm. I max it out there, Urals, and Moscow. Then I build up Trans-Baikal, Luhansk, and the Caucuses. I upgrade to iron construction methods and my whole mission until about 1850 is getting it up to about 300 capacity. The industrialisation that brings will drop the landowners down to like 20-30% power and make the reforms easy with a power base for them.

If you're fighting against equal to advanced war tech enemies, keep your armies on the defensive and plan on fighting them to a white peace. This is because if you try and go on the attack against an enemy army with stronger war implements and a near enough body count to your army, they will get slaughtered. Your manpower will rapidly be depleted and your armies will not be able to reinforce fast enough, and more likely than not the enemy army will go on the attack and continually route your army and take more land. Practice fighting wars on the steppe states between you and Persia.

Secondly, since you're also taking control of a country with the aristocracy and landlords in control of the government, it becomes your best interest to set your taxes to 'very high taxes' and utilize the surplus tax funds to build more construction sectors and increase the rate you're industrializing your state.

Set 'promote social mobility decrees in your most populated provinces so you can increase literacy and your research rate while not having an education policy.

Lastly, try to beeline towards getting the railways tech so you can further industrialize without stumbing over infrastructure limits.

Basically something like this steam guide

Changing the landowners first to make factories is key, getting the heir as a landlord leader helps you a ton.

Focus on coal, iron, tools, steel, engines and trains at first, make other things if you need but getting your construction industry high with the steel-frame buildings tech and the economy to support this growth is key.

I wish I could find a gamer gf :(

1. Throw taxes to full- this increases malcontents who you can use for reforms early game, also allows you to build more, will cause issues if you try to map paint tho

1.A Chase gold- gold production is added directly to your income, Alaska is a good source, so are Brunei and orange+ transvaal

1.B If you're willing to constantly fight the USA, day 1 invade Mexico, bunch of gold and other rgo's

1.C improving your tax law should be a high priority, proportional tax can quadruple your income

2. If you are not in debt, do not run at a profit- once you reach the gold limit you earn additional gold at 1/2 the usual rate

2.A If you have spare income build universities (until innovation cap) and then construction centers

2.B make sure every province has enought tax capacity by building admin center, early game this provides a surplus of admin cap, late game you will be building admin centers for the cap

2.C Maintain military parity with your European rivals, this is defensive- European territory isn't worth the fight you just don't want to be invaded

3. Build industry for growth- whatever construction tech you use should be prioritized (construction costs depends on construction goods, a good steel industry saves money later)

3.A use the most advanced construction method possible

3.B DO NOT BUILD FARMS- farms are cheap for construction (so poor countries should build some) but they add conservative pops which make it harder to get the good laws

3.C BUILD LOGGING CAMPS- 150 construction, same as farms, but they add industrialists, very cheap and easy way to get some liberals

3.D make sure the build menu is on peasants or unemployed, the jobseeker list is a lie

4. Use the most advanced production method you have goods for

4.A Do not trust the profit estimation, the automation (green) methods directly increase gdppc and SoL and are always worth it.

5. No political half measures- if a law would cause an IG to go from 10 to 5 approval they WILL join the opposition making the adoption harder

5.A if you are trying to stay a monarchy DO NOT LIBERALIZE PAST LANDED VOTING

5.B IF you are trying to Liberalize/Socialize then get rid of the monarchy

5.C Council Republic > parliamentary Republic > presidential Republic > monarchy = theocracy

5.D anarchy = Single party state> autocracy = universal suffrage > technocracy = census suffrage >> everything else

5.E command economy = coop ownership > Lazzie faire >>>> everything else

6. 1 army of 24 units beats 2 armies of 12 units

6.A armies should be 51% inf 49% arty

6.B always use the most advanced army techs you have

6.C make sure you enable every mobilization (except forced march) option for every army

7 In revolutions the capital state never revolts (unless you are an OPM), non-states onpy join seperatiat movements

7.A If you are expecting to fight revolts (either you are forcing liberalization or fighting for the reaction) then build your army in the capital and colonies

7.B if you plan to force change by revolution build armies in high turmoil states