1 - I think positively of Italy because of the fact that the only power who has any interest in attacking Italy would be Russia... and Russia is already attacking everyone else. It is also important to note that if Turkey, Italy, Germany, and England don't all resist Russia, he could end up winning. Previous moves suggest that everyone on the board has recognized this. Back to Italy: if he attacks Turkey then he aids Russia, who will control far more of the area then Italy will get, not to mention the stronger position. Italy is building more armies than fleets which suggests less concern with Med control and more interest in eastern control. But here lies the most important part: if you have any experience with Italy vs Turkey, it can very quickly favor Italy. Italy with an army presence will push through Austria and the Balkans before Turkey can gain much. So if Italy basically gets builds by pushing Russia out of Austria while Turkey gains nothing but his home centers and a couple Balkans, then Italy should be able to stab Turkey and basically own the eastern half of the board. I speak this from the experience of the only time I have solo'd as Italy. Lastly: not France for two reasons not related to Russia would be: Gains are pretty slow (one or two powers are likely to get very strong soon, and if you aren't one of them you are not going to be looking good). The other reason is that there is no particular western threat yet. France is weak, England is weak, and Germany is spread thin. It is chaos and not likely to resolve any time soon. The only hope for them is a united front against Russia, where they can't accomplish much quickly.
No, Germany has no other options unless he can convince France that he must fight Russia with full force if he is to stop a Russian solo. It is actually very true, too. I have seen Russia secure all of the north while keeping the south/east from gaining on him too fast and end up winning. If the west doesn't cooperate to some degree, Russia could win there.
Turkey could come out of this ahead. He is in a similar position to Italy, assuming they work together. The problem is Russia is more likely to lose his hold of Austria before his hold on Turkey. Unless Italy gets too cocky, Turkey won't likely get an opportunity to gain any kind of advantage on Italy as they push Russia back.
Russia has made a lot of enemies as he has grown so powerful. He should be encouraging France to be spiteful to Germany and England, he should be trying to cement his control in the North (which is tenuous) and hoping to convince Italy to work with him against Turkey and Germany (and maybe even France). If Italy were to ignore or work with Russia for even a couple more turns then I believe Russia stands a decent chance at soloing (barring some really bad orders).
It is very possible to reverse the Russian solo, as long as there is cooperation against it. I am assuming that there is, because to not would be to give up as the rest of the powers. It is also the biggest opportunity for the rest of the powers.
Lastly, all of my assumptions are primarily on this being an online game. Such predictions would be nearly worthless in a face to face game where manipulation is a much stronger tool.