@Festive what ways did Soviet tech become less restrictive? To me it feels more restrictive with T3 units coming every game and T4 units being used less. Are you are talking about a shift away from the T34/85 call-in meta? Since nobody rushes Ost T4 I think improving it would be better than using that as a reason for the Sov T3 requirement.
Obviously its more restrictive now. But I still play into t34/85 esp vs OKW. But now I can get a single 85 while previously i had 2 of them at that moment. And I have lees units on the way to 85.
In general its easier vs OKW. You can skip T1 there.