"They weren't, it's kind of urban legend. Soviet construction schools, whether on tanks, aircraft or submarines (e.g.) were always concerned about the crew in a normal way, AFAIK there is no proof to say nonsense like "crew matters less than engine"."
Exactly. They did toy with the front engine idea:
http://www.morozov.com.ua/images/p78-2l.jpg
http://www.morozov.com.ua/images/p87-1l.jpg
Neverthless they rejected it, probably for the same reasons everybody else except the israelis rejected it.