Laika was launched into orbit in 1957. At that time "Russia" was a member of the USSR (soviet union) called the "Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" (

Laika was launched into orbit in 1957. At that time "Russia" was a member of the USSR (soviet union) called the "Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Soci...). That government collapsed in 1991, and was replaced by the current "Russian Federation" government. Which is relevant history to your question, because SOP for the USSR/RSFSR is very different from SOP for the current government. The current gov is corrupt and lies, but has entirely different motivations than the government that lied for 34 years about Laika.