The Polyus is a great example of my point (and that Wikipedia page does not provide an abundance of references, although I enjoyed the Buran book). It was a failed mission whose expectations were drastically downgraded several times and launched seemingly for the sole purpose of posturing on the international stage. All of the primary technology like the Energia rockets were simply oversized versions of their predecessors like the Proton rocket, except designed in the mid 70s and cobbled together in the 80s.