I'm trying to do some research for a peace of historical fiction, and I want to ground it with an understanding of how the Soviets went about their research and development, how they decided upon missions and directives, how funding was secured, total assets like launchpads, factories, the roles of design bureaus, and the big people involved (I know of Korolev and Glushko, but not much else). And the general history, how did they get from sounding rockets in the '30s to Venus probes and space stations in the '70s. I would like to get pointed towards good resources and books on the history (technical and political) as well.
While you're waiting on more informed answers, I can recommend Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the hidden rivalries that ignited the Space Age by Matthew Brzezinski especially for the period 1945 - 1957. It's a work of popular history by a journalist, and thus tends to focus on the personalities (e.g. Korolev gets a lot of coverage), but you might find it helpful.