I know that Saturn V's payload was 140 tons, about 20 times that of Soyuz. The Soviets did not have a functioning rocket with similar characteristics. But why? They had a head start in the space race by focusing on it early on. What kept them from building a powerful rocket?

I think I saw a documentary that mentioned that large rockets like Saturn V could have vibration problems that would destroy them, but why couldn't the Soviets solve them? It's not like they lacked relevant talent. They built an H-bomb and wrote the most comprehensive Theoretical Physics textbook around that time.

I know that Saturn V's payload was 140 tons, about 20 times that of Soyuz. The Soviets did not have a functioning rocket with similar characteristics. But why? They had a head start in the space race by focusing on it early on. What kept them from building a powerful rocket?

I think I saw a documentary that mentioned that large rockets like Saturn V could have vibration problems that would destroy them, but why couldn't the Soviets solve them? It's not like they lacked the relevant talent. They built an H-bomb and wrote the most comprehensive Theoretical Physics textbook around that time.