The main Soviet lunar lander was the LK (Lunniy Korabl), developed as part of the N1-L3 programme. It was a compact module designed to land a single cosmonaut on the Moon.
LK characteristics:
Mass of approximately 5.5 tonnes (much lighter than the American LM (Apollo))
Capacity for a single cosmonaut
No pressurised airlock – the cosmonaut had to depressurise the entire cabin to exit
Propulsion: main descent engine and ascent engine
The programme failed mainly due to the repeated failures of the N1 rocket, the Soviet equivalent of the Saturn V. The four test launches (1969-1972) all ended in spectacular explosions. After the success of Apollo 11 in July 1969, the USSR gradually abandoned its ambitions for manned landings.