Yesterday you met the Allies. Up now are the Russians.

Just a brief note: These introductions are taken from the open beta for Red Alert 3, which I've been playing for the last week or so. Since it's a beta, a lot of the features are undocumented and subject to change. So when Red Alert 3 finally comes out in October, don't be surprised if, say, your dolphin can't do the awesomely useless high jumps you read about yesterday.

After the jump, meet your Soviet comrades.

Buildings
Soviet base building is very Command & Conquer 3, but with a minor twist. Like the Allies, you select a building from the Construction Yard. But instead of waiting until it's ready, you immediately place it, at which point it gradually builds itself rather than suddenly emerging from the ground. You can't order another building from the Construction Yard until your previous building has finished itself.

As with the Allies, you can only place buildings within your area of control. To extend your area of control, you have to send out and deploy Sputniks. Contrary to their name, these are little tanks from the War Factory. Also, only the Soviets are the only faction in Red Alert 3 to get the crane that lets you construct multiple buildings at once.

Infantry
Since it's likely to be the first unit out of the Russian barracks, the War Bear will be the #1 threat to your enemy. It has an amplified roar that stuns infantry. In other words, it's just like the Allied dog, but more Russian.

The Conscript can toggle between his assault rifle and a Molotov cocktail that's good for instantly killing garrisoned units.

Flak Troopers are effective against aircraft and vehicles. They can swap out their flak cannons for magnetic mines that only work at short range, but do extra damage to a vehicle that drives over them. He who laughs last laughs best, even if he's a puddle of goo mashed up in a tank's treads.

Combat Engineers can build Battle Bunkers that will protect up to five infantry units. And for the low low price of $50!

Tesla Troopers are advanced anti-vehicle infantry who look much cooler than other Soviet infantry. Fire off their EM Disruptors to shut down enemy vehicles.

The Soviet hero, Natasha, can snipe the drivers out of enemy vehicles, allowing Soviet infantry to capture them. Plus, she's on the cover of the box.

Vehicles
Amphibious Terror Drones can toggle between anti-infantry claws and beams that shut down enemy vehicles. As in the previous Red Alert games, they're tiny, fast, and annoying.

Sickles are spider bots that chew up infantry. Their flea jump ability lets them get around map obstacles.

Bullfrog troop carriers are effective against aircraft, but they're also great for circus acts. Their special ability lets them shoot their transported infantry out of a cannon over long distances. Clowns not included.

Switch the Hammer Tank between its main gun and a long distance leech beam that heals it up. By the way, each faction has a colored beam "theme". The Soviets are green, the Japanese are blue, and the Allies are sadly beamless.

Toggle the V4 Rocket Launcher between a powerful single rocket and a set of less powerful rockets that land over a wider area. I'm guessing one is more useful against buildings and the other is more useful against massed infantry.

The mighty Apocalypse Tank can switch between its main guns and a long-range tractor beam that drags vehicles into a front-mounted rotating crusher. You know that Russian tree eating tank in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Stupid Stuff George Lucas Thought Up? It's like that, but big and slow and hungry for vehicles instead of trees.

Aircraft
The Twinblade helicopter is an all-around workhorse. Its rockets are good against vehicles, its guns are good against infantry, its hold is good for carrying up to six infantry, and its sky hook is good for carrying a single vehicle. And before you ask, no, it can't carry an Apocalypse Tank. Please. Do you know how heavy those things are?

MiG Fighters are the Soviet fighter jets useful for shooting down enemy aircraft. They seem to be a 1:1 copy of the Allied Apollo fighter.

The Kirov Airship is a staple of the Red Alert series. This lovely languid blimp is the ultimate base buster, so long as you clear out any air defenses. These Kirovs can go so fast it hurts. Literally. Switch on the Gastroburners for a burst of speed, but at the expense of the Kirov's health.

Ships
The Stingray sprouts legs so you can send it ashore. But at sea, it has the ability to fire off a Tesla Surge that disables nearby ships. By the way, "Stingray"? Couldn't they think of a better name for something that sprouts legs and walks out of the water?

Akula Subs don't show up on the enemy's minimap until they attack. And if you line up your Akula Sub just right, its unguided Ultratorpedoes will do massive damage to anything in front of it.

The Dreadnought is the Russian answer to the Allied Aircraft Carrier. It's long range missile attacks fire at increased speed if you turn off safe mode, which fires more missiles but at the cost of the Dreadnought's health.

Protocols
As a game progresses, and especially as you fight battles, you earn points you can spend on protocols unique to each factions. Every protocol costs only a single point, but they're arranged in three branches of five protocols. In each branch, you have to purchase the first protocol before the second is available, and so on. Following are the three "branches" for the Soviets:

Terror Drone Surprise isn't a Russian dessert. It's a protocol that occasionally spawns terror drones from destroyed Russian vehicles. Toxic Corrosion gradually destroys a target vehicle and causes it to leak harmful gunk. Use this on the lead vehicle in an enemy column for maximum effectiveness. Orbital Drops, then Dumps, then Downpours rain down space debris on a target area.

Use your Cash Bounty in a small area to earn a reward whenever the units in that area are destroyed. Desolator Airstrike, Dual-Airstrike, and Delta-Airstrike are powerful bomber attacks. Mass Production reduces the cost of your units by 25%, which is perfect for flooding the map with cheap Conscripts pouring out of multiple barracks.

Grinder Treads repair vehicles when they crush enemies. The Magnetic Satellite, Super-Magnetic Satellite, and Ultra-Magnetic Satellite suck armored units into space, which improves the power of an Orbital Drop attack. There's nothing quite so demoralizing as having your own Aircraft Carriers and Athena Cannons dropped on your base by a Russian Orbital Drop. The Magnetic Singularity sucks vehicles into its maw.

Superweapon
The Iron Curtain gives armored units in a small area just over twenty seconds of immunity to all damage.