I would like to see a WWII version of this set.

Its great to see new plastic Soviet figures from this era. These will be very useful- bravo ICM!

Finally!

Hope more sets will appear. Great poses.

Is the Soviet uniform of this era similar enough to modern Russian uniforms to use them for that purpose?

No, is the simple answer though it depends what time scale you mean when you say 'modern'. The troops in this set are wearing what appears to be a post 1958 single breasted khaki tunic with four buttons and two chest pockets with a small collar. A reference I have suggests it was called the 'rubashka'. I believe they standardized this uniform in 1969 and it is just called the m1969 uniform. The pants for most soldiers were the same khaki as the jacket with two hip pockets. Modern Russian soldier uniform patterns didn't really change shape much since the 'Afghanka' pattern was introduced in the early 80s- which is a standard winter and summer jacket with four pockets and trousers with hip and knee side pockets. The winter version usually has a big fur collar. It has not been until fairly recently that the old 'Afghanka' pattern has been changed in favor of newer shapes- particularly noticeable on their digital camouflage uniform. So basically these troops would not really be much use beyond 1991 as the manufacturer suggests. HTH.

The long wait is over!