My ringtone:

This seems to be the one most common at museums. No idea how authentic it is. I like the jagged loop in there. here's a whole passel of Sputnik recordings.

The Soviet space program is both amazing and emblematic of Russia, and I love it. While it's not entirely true that the United States spent a million dollars developing a "space pen" while the Soviets used pencils, the fact remains that a private contractor in the United States spent a million dollars developing the Space Pen to sell to NASA while the Soviets used... pencils. Tang and astronaut ice cream? The Soviets sent up cans. NASA gave their astronauts a steak and egg breakfast because they wanted their pilots to have a lot of protein. The Soviets gave their astronauts enemas to cut down on launch weight. NASA had an entire chimp program that cost millions of dollars. The Soviets literally snatched stray dogs off the Baikonur grounds. It was suggested by Mary Roach in Packing for Mars that the Soviets were the first to launch a woman into space because they recognized the practicality of women - after all, they weigh less. NASA meanwhile still favors big male Texans because the notion of a female catheter doesn't sit well with them.

The Soviets also had a "quantity over quality" approach. For any one American spy satellite the Soviets would put up four. The space program was a jobs project for the Americans but for the Soviets it was an industry.

I recognize that it's some seriously weird watching, but it was some of the most poignant I've ever seen, and made me completely reconsider the Cold War:

It was clear to me that the Soviets considered themselves underdogs. There's a fatalism in the propaganda that screams "we know the odds are against us and we'll eventually lose, but we'll do it OUR WAY."