Neal-called-Peter lounged on his throne. Life was good. He held a near-monopoly on Optics, and, with the help of Scientists working around the clock in Yorkutsk and Londongrad, he was sure that he could expand that edge into the full-scale advantage of early Astronomy. In anticipation of the birth of a second Great Scientist, a few turns were invested into the study of the stars before switching over to the more prosaic concern of setting up Guilds. After all, Workshops were beginning to sprout up across the empire, and the advent of the mounted Knight would revolutionize warfare.
As Russia focused on science and the future of battle, the rest of Europe was engaged in bloody campaigns of their own:
Peter took a calculated risk, staying on the sidelines in the conflict, preferring to cultivate a friendship with the surly Tokugawa. Of course, a few decades later, someone asked us to sever trade ties with the Japanese, and I absent-mindedly agreed, and now the Japanese, while Friendly, refuse to talk to us. Even the King of the World isn't perfect.
In 445, the Apostolic Palace was built in the territory of the Inca, promising new productivity for the followers of the one true Buddhist faith. Interestingly, it was the charismatic Alexander who ascended to its throne:
More importantly, though, Peter finally had his convocation of Scientists ready to crack the secrets of the constellations. Russia's creaky old Galleys were upgraded to Galleons. Settlers, Workers, and soldiers were loaded on board and sent southwest, hoping to find new virgin lands (at this, Neal winked at his advisors, telling them that he "had a hunch"). Within a few short years, Maracaibovosk and Paramarislavl were founded on the northern shores of what we would call the South American continent.
Though Peter was unwilling to commit to real land wars in Europe, he was more than willing to show solidarity with his friends by agreeing to phony wars in far-off Asia:
Of course, feeling the heat from nearly all of the Buddhist west, Hatshepsut quickly folded, throwing herself on the tender mercies of her Jewish brother, Roosevelt. This escalation still didn't result in any real danger for the Russian people, though it did cancel a few lucrative resource trades.
After sneaking through Aztec India and American Indochina, our intrepid Spy found himself at the edge of Elizabeth's east Asian empire. He was shocked at what he saw:
Well, I guess Japan's pathetic state in most Earth18 games isn't entirely the fault of curmudgeonly Toku. We're past 500 A.D. and she doesn't even have Iron Working yet? I thought she was supposed to be a power civ!
With both Guilds and Astronomy as Russian monopoly techs, Peter made the difficult decision of using Guilds to backfill:
We also traded obsolete techs for gold and maps from the friendly Malinesian people we found on the Caribbean rim.
By 790 A.D., we also have Gunpowder weapons in our arsenal, and Galleons brimming with colonists on the way to South America. I believe we are at a crossroads. Here is our technology decision:
Along with the positions of our neighbors:
I'd like to put off the Liberalism race to maybe try for Communism or Rifling, but I think we have too many rivals that can make a serious run at it right now. As you can see, the Americas are still backward, but not by nearly as much as they usually are with Montezuma stretching slaves over altars. So should we push Education-Liberalism now and take what we can get, or do you think we can put it off for a little while?
I know you're all here to see the juicy maps of the world as it presently stands, so, without further ado, here they are:
It's a bit interesting that Qin went for four cities there. Huayna normally makes do with three. And, from a glance, it looks like Cyrus is doing a fine job of squeezing out old Mansa Musa. In the Old World, meanwhile, the Inca are an absolute beast, though Germany seems to be doing pretty well for itself. Either way, I'll leave you all with the Diplomacy Screen and let the discussions begin:
Yeah. This is a significantly less peaceful world than the standard setup. Save is above.
Use them until the AI start figuring out frigates and the likes, then sail them all to the west and set up shop in the Caribbean. You could probably blockade almost the entire eastern seaboard and loot / GG-farm 'til the cowzski's come home 
