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The Russians got it right. They’re flying a spacecraft from the ‘60s on a rocket from the ‘50s. It’s worked out very well for them, and they haven’t lost any cosmonauts on a flight since 1971.

Not that they didn't try to advance beyond that. But the USSR's resources were stretched to the limit. As will be the USA's under Zero.

Well, the Soyuz and R-7 booster aren’t exactly the same as they were originally. The core design is unchanged, but there have been lots of incremental upgrades over the years.

Certainly if we were still flying the Apollo, we’d be using more modern computer systems in them. Just as the shuttles had a lot of electronics upgrades (Columbia had just gotten new computers when it was lost).

As for your post, the Energia booster was pretty badass. Sucker had more power than the Saturn V. The Buran shuttle was nothing special however, and well below the technological level of the American shuttles. But as you said, the Soviet Union collapsed and there was no money to continue the project.