This seems needlessly diminishing of the accomplishments of the Space Program. The Soviet Space program (and US) explicitly wanted to place men on the Moon and

This seems needlessly diminishing of the accomplishments of the Space Program. The Soviet Space program (and US) explicitly wanted to place men on the Moon and Mars, and Korolev had a goal of doing that by 1968. Hell, the only reason the Soviets didn't start their specific Moon program earlier was due to personal issues between competing departments as well as the Governments insistence that the space program be specialized toward weaponry rather than outright exploration.