Reply #3: Actually, that *was* the Soviet plan

[Technowitch]

Unfortunately, a series of spectacular failures of their heavy-lift rocket boosters put the whole program in jeopardy. Their launch systems were great at getting small capsules into orbit, but every time they tried to scale up... BOOM.

Meanwhile, the U.S. got ahead of them and landed Armstrong and Aldrin. The Soviets continued to consider plans for permanent bases -- because it would be something the Americans could not yet do -- but they still could not get around the fact we had the Saturn V and Saturn 1B -- and they didn't.

Eventually, they decided to concentrate instead on Earth orbit, hence all the space stations. And to pretend they never really were serious about the moon in the first place.