http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft.

html

This website lists the historical and military aspects of the Russian space agency. Specifically it lists
intelligence gathering.

http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal114/

“This gallery tells about that U.S.-Soviet space rivalry and its aftermath, from the military origins of the
Space Race, through the race to the Moon and the development of reconnaissance satellites, to
cooperative ventures between the two former rivals and efforts to maintain a human presence in space.
Some of the many highlights include a German V-1 "buzz bomb" and V 2 missile, Soviet and U.S.
spacecraft and space suits, a Skylab Orbital Workshop, and a full-size test version of the Hubble Space
Telescope.”

http://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/

“History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The
world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter),
weighed only 83.6 kg. or 183.9 pounds, and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical
path. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While
the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space
race.”

“Chronology of Sputnik/Vanguard/Explorer Events 1957-58 

 October 4, 1957 USSR: Sputnik 1 (83.6 kg) launched 
 November 3 USSR: Sputnik 2 (508.3 kg), with dog Laika as passenger, launched 
 December 6 USA: Vanguard TV-3 explodes on launch pad 
 January 31, 1958 USA: Explorer 1 (14 kg), America's first satellite, discovers the Van
Allen radiation belts 
 February 3 USSR: First try to launch Sputnik 3 fails 
 February 5 USA: A second Vanguard try fails 
 March 5 USA: Explorer 2 fails to orbit 
 March 17 USA: Vanguard 1 (1.47 kg) successfully orbits, establishes the pear-
shapedness of the Earth 
 March 26 USA: Explorer 3 orbits, collects radiation and micrometeoroid data 
 April 28 USA: Another Vanguard fails to orbit (third failure) 
 May 15 USSR: Sputnik 3 (1,327 kg) orbits, carrying large array of scientific instruments,
but tape recorder fails, so it can't map Van Allen belts 
 May 27 USA Vanguard fails for the fourth time 
 June 26 USA Vanguard fails for fifth time 
 July 26 USA Explorer 4 orbits and maps Van Allen radiation belts for 2 1/2 months 
  August 24 USA Explorer 5 fails to orbit 
 September 26 USA Vanguard fails for the sixth time”

http://www.fas.org/spp/eprint/lindroos_moon1.htm

“Twenty years after the first American moon landing, on August 18, 1989 the USSR officially
acknowledged the existence of their manned lunar program with an initial release of information
by the Soviet newspaper Izvestija. An increasing number of photographs and blueprints of Soviet
lunar hardware have become available to Western analysts and space observers. It is now clear
that personal rivalries, shifting political alliances and bureaucratic inefficiencies bred failure and
delays within the moon program. There was strong competition between research teams and
laboratories. This internal competition and the low budget for manned exploration of the Moon
explains the failure of Soviet technology against the successful American Apollo program.

This paper summarizes the Soviet manned lunar program in the light of the latest findings
published in the West.”