indeed, youre very right. It is really annoying, to face a panther with a T34/85 just to have all your shots richochet when you know you could penetrate him on very short distance. Its not like all soviet tanks would have been totally crap or made from paper. In comparison to german tanks, they had of course there distadvantages, but they never have been totally useless. The same story when you face a IS2. There are more weak spots needed, a shot in the turret mantled, tracks or if you have enough luck a direct hit between turret and hull should always have a clear damage to the tank not just a richochet. And im sick as well to see that angled tanks get destroyed by HE shells ... not that its totally unrealistic (specialy while using the IS2), but that you can this way even on large distance destroy a panther or tiger frontally with a T34 is a bit ... well strange.
I hope we will get in future the KV1e or KV85 for some good early and mid war maps so we do not have just the T34/76. And i would like to see how well the early Panzer IV+III would do again the KV1e