Basically it's all down to conflict of personalities between Korolev and the guy whose name I can't spell...
thats Valentin Glushko (in 1938 he denounced Korolev, who was sentenced to imprisonment for ten years.)
Glushko was major Rocket engine desiger in USSR and Korolev
had to work with him.
other major player in Sovjet Moon Program (oh boy wat a soap opera!)
Vladimir Chelomei
Chief Constructor of the OKB-52, and friend of Khruschev's family
Rival of Korolev, but lost support of politburo after Khruschev fall,
Vasily Mishin
became head of Korolyov’s OKB-1 design bureau after Korolev's death in 1966.
but he was a intrigue alcoholic ,like play Glushko against Korolev in question on engine on N-1 rocket.
and inexperienced Kuznetsov get order to build N-1 rocket engine NK-15.
Mishin way of problem resolution, to get drunk until koma
Sovjet to Moon the Easy Way
Khruschev stay in power and Leonid Brezhnev is cick out politburo
Vladimir Chelomei build UR-500 (Proton) Rocket for manned moon fly by with LK-1
(OTL that became later Soyuz 7K-L1 program wat Mishin badly screw up)
instead the N-1 Chelomei proposed the UR-700 rocket build from UR-500 Parts
http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/ur700.htm
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/lk700.htm
that would be head to head race between Apollo 11 and LK-700
Sovjet to Moon the Hard Way
Korolev N-1 is build
we have get rid of Mishin, best way at test launch Soyuz. 7K-OK nr°1
(OTL the R-7 Rocket explode and almost kill Mishin)
and Dmitri Ilich Kozlov succeeds Mishin, Kozlov get bugs out of Soyuz and N-1
but not on time for Apollo 8 Lunar fly by or Apollo 11 landing
so we need a delay or chanceled the Apollo Program !
like Apollo 8 mission with Oxygen tank explosion (like in Apollo 13)
and Nixon chanceled the Program "six Dead Astronauts are enough !"
that give the Sovjet Program time to land on moon in 1973