Whether I can design maps or not is irrelevant. I have paid money for maps that have supposedly been designed by people who design maps for a living.
I expect maps that I have purchased to be considerably better than anything I might design myself.
Look at a map like Volga River, where’s the “design” part of that? The base maps might not appeal to all players, but at least they put some effort into them.
I did expect the Russian DLC to be bleak, but that’s no excuse for being bland.