hi! direct responses are welcome, but meanwhile, you may find these earlier discussions relevant

Question about American and Soviet attitudes towards the space race:

How did the competing Soviet and American space agencies view each other during the Space Race? Did the opinions of the astronauts and cosmonauts differ from this?

Why did the USSR lose the race to the moon, despite getting every other Space Race "first"?

.. and there's a bit more in the FAQ; two of these posts include a link to the relevant section